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

Stories that have little truth to them should go here.
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Post by Caesar73 »

NotSeen wrote: 3 years ago
Caesar73 wrote: 3 years ago I wonder about Kim .... something seems a little off .....
Then again, that's probably too innocent an explanation. We're talking about wolfman, after all...
My thoughts exactly :)
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Post by Bandit666 »

That makes three of us all thinking the same
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Post by NotSeen »

Bandit666 wrote: 3 years ago That makes three of us all thinking the same
Guess we've all been around long enough to know that no matter what we expect, there will always be a curveball...
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Post by Caesar73 »

I think we have all learned, that [mention]wolfman[/mention] is always good for a surprise or to put it this way: expect the unexpected. One quality I admire in a writer. Another author ever good for a surprise is [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] in his Saga "Nothing Personal" :) A totally different approach in many ways, but equally fascinating.
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Post by wolfman »

[mention]Caesar73[/mention] [mention]NotSeen[/mention] [mention]Bandit666[/mention]

I don't know what you mean ;)

I am sure that there is an innocent explanation.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
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Post by Caesar73 »

wolfman wrote: 3 years ago @Caesar73 @NotSeen @Bandit666

I don't know what you mean ;)

I am sure that there is an innocent explanation.
Innocent explanation :) Somehow I doubt that :)
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Post by wolfman »

Nikita moves wordlessly around her home, dressed in a loose red t-shirt and black cargo shorts. She goes about her business, monitoring the life pulses of her sister, brother in law and step-niece, waiting for signs that they are awake.

She pulls a backpack from her armoury and packs a compact sleeping back, first aid kit, wire saw, fishing supplies and a tomahawk with a collapsible handle. She pauses in the starkly lit room and inhales the scent of gun oil and cordite, thinking, "I wonder what Dani would have packed."

"Hmmm interesting tactical option."' She thinks, snatching up a pack of crossbow bolts and slipping on a leatherman tread bracelet.

Sensing movement from next door, she sets down the back pack and leaves the armoury, closing the door behind her. She nods to herself, wordlessly picking up a wooden baseball bat and a toolkit, as she walks out of the back door.

She sits at the wooden table in her back garden, resting the bat between two of the slats of the table so it doesn't roll. She begins to saw roughly two thirds of the length down from the handle.

The end of the bat comes off easily and she hefts the weapon checking its' weight and balance. Satisfied, she picks up a sheet of sandpaper wrapped around a small block of wood and sets to work smoothing the end. 

Nikita slows her breathing and uses the action of working the wood, as a form of moving medetation. She sinks into a rhythm and relaxes her body and mind, as she waits. Occasionally, she stops, blowing sawdust from the end of the bat and checking her progress with a light brush of her fingers.

She sets down the bat and reaches into her toolbox, pulling out a rechargeable hand drill and fitting a rotary cutting bit. She lights a cigarette and holds it between her lips, pinning the bat down with one hand and using the drill in the other. A moment later she examines the groove she has cut into the bat from roughly a foot from the handle, ending two inches shy of its' end and nods to herself.

Nikita uses the drill to cut a roughly circlular hole in the wood and smiles to herself, both relaxed and satisfied at her efforts. She smiles to herself and begins to sand the rough edges on the bat, waiting for the cry of her name. For which, she doesn't have to wait long.



"Niki!" Kim cries out, excitedly, as she climbs over the fence, landing with a thump. She dusts off her tracksuit trousers and hooded top and bounces over to her aunt

Nikita appraises her, now that she has a better look at the girl, "She has lost weight. Actually no she hasn't. She has toned a little and added a little muscle." She thinks before saying, "Hello sweetie. How are you? I hope I didn't wake you."

"I was awake anyway, waiting for dad and Sasha to get up." Kim dashes across the garden and throws her arms around Nikita, trying not to cry, "I missed you so much."

Nikita puts down the modified bat and picks up Kim in a warm hug, "I missed you too, Kim."

"I thought you were never coming back. I was so scared I would never see you again." Kim whispers, relieved.

"Well, we're back now." Nikita says, softly, before setting Kim down on the bench next to her.

Kim dries her eyes and looks up at her aunt with a smile, before her gaze is drawn to the bat, "What are you making?"

Nikita picks up the bat, with a glint in her eye, "Oh this? This is just a Woomera."

Kim screws her face up in confusion, "Eh? What is a Woomera?"

"This is a Woomera." Nikita says, with a smile.

"No. You know what I mean." Kim says, in mock exasperation.

Nikita gives her a wink, and gets to her feet, picking up the bat. Kim watches fascinated as her aunt picks up a stone and places it into the round hole on the Woomera. Nikita pulls the weapon back and smoothly whips it forward, launching the stone. The projectile connects with the fence at the end of the garden with a sharp crack.

"Whoa." Kim exclaims, open mouthed.

Nikita picks up around a dozen round pebbles and places them on the table. She holds out the bat to Kim, "Do you want to try?"

Kim grins, tentatively taking the weapon and getting to her feet. Nikita shows her how to load a pebble into it, and shows her how to swing the Woomera to launch the stone. Her first attempt falls short and she rolls her sleeves up in determination to try again. The second goes high, but, from the third shot on, she doesn't miss.

"Good skills." Nikita says, with pride. "Lets change the game a little." She winks taking the Woomera and loading a crossbow bolt. "We have range, lets try for accuracy." She whips the woomera, sending the dart flying into a tree trunk thirty feet away.

Kim loads the dart in the same way Nikita did and lets fly sending the dart into the bushes. She loads the weapon again and is about to launch again, when Nikita stops her. "The trick it to have as straight a swing as possible and have the Woomera pointing straight at whatever you want to hit at the end of the swing."

Kim rest the weapon on her shoulder and slowly practices her swing without launching. She nods, chewing her lip and whips the weapon forward, narrowly missing the tree. 

"Much better." Nikita says, "Have another go." She watches Kim closely and notices the marks on the girls wrists. "They look like bruises from handcuffs. If someone has been hurting her, I will rip them limb from limb." She thinks, working out how she will broach the subject.

Kim nervously reloads and launches. She whoops with joy seeing her dart sticking out of the tree. "I did it." She says, flicking her gaze between the tree and the darts on the bench.

"Wait a second." Nikita says, taking a sheet of paper from the toolbox and jogging over to the tree. She plucks a dart out of the tree and uses it to pin the paper in place. 

"See if you can hit that." Nikita says, returning to the bench. "Just remember, you have all the time you need. There is no rush."

Over the next ten minutes, Kim manages to hit the target three times out of twenty shots and hits the tree itself eight times. She hangs her heads crestfallen, as the last dart misses. Nikita puts a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Not bad for a first try. What do you say we find the darts and try again?"

Kim smiles up, and nods taking her aunt's hand. She sets down the weapon and allows Nikita to lead her toward the bushes.



"Got one." Kim cries out, triumphantly holding the last lost dart aloft like a trophy.

"Well done. You seem quite at home in the bushes." Nikita says warmly, even though her smile has faded slightly.

Kim bounds over to her and slips the dart back into the pack. The warm early spring sun cuts through the chill of the morning as they cross the garden to the bench once more. Kim eagerly picks up the Woomera and is about to load it, when Nikita, gently places a hand on her nieces shoulder. "Let's sit for a minute. I need to talk to you." She says in a firm, but gently tone.

"Is something wrong?" Kim asks in wide eyed, anxiety.

"I don't know yet." Nikita says, gently, "Where did you go last night?"

Kim flushes red and feels her pulse quicken, "How did she know?" She asks herself, feeling a panic rise in herself.

"It's alright, you're not in trouble. But I need to know." Nikita assures, the teenager, placing a gentle hand on her upper arm.

"Promise you wont get angry." Kim pleads nervously.

Nikita smiles warmly and takes the girls hands in her own, "I promise."

"I was training." Kim says unable to look Nikita in the eye.

"Not what I was expecting. Don't know if that is better or worse" Nikita thinks, frowning slightly, before asking, "What kind of training?"

Kim bites her lip and closes her eyes, "How to escape from handcuffs, how to shoot a tranq gun, how to hide and how run."

"That is not what I was expecting." Nikita thinks before, probing further, "Why are you learning those things?"

Kim looks away, "You wouldn't understand."

Nikita lets go of Kim's arm and moves around the bench to sit next to her and wrap an arm around her shoulders, "Try me."

"I need to know those kind of things for when the baby comes." Kim says, quietly.

Dumbfounded, Nikita squints, as she tries to work out what Kim means, "Can you help me to understand why you need to know about those things? What does the baby have to do with it?" She asks, fearing the worst.

"I have been kidnapped twice, nearly three times and each time, no one was there to help." Kim explains slowly, trying not to cry, "I don't want to be a victim again and if I am, I want to be able to save myself."

"Oh darling..." Nikita says, but she cannot stop the outpouring from the young woman now she has begun.

"I don't want to live a life where I am scared of every sound in the night or every stranger on the street." Kim admits, sobbing, "And I don't want that for the baby either."

Nikita hugs Kim and tries to comfort her, but Kim pushes her away, "No! You don't get it. That man came into our home and hurt my dad. I found a gun, but I couldn't stop him. I felt so useless."

"Oh Kim." Nikita says, heartbroken, "It is not on your shoulders, we are all here for you."

"No you're not." She wails, "Dad is always working. Sasha is always studying or training. You and Steve are always away, Louise is in meetings, Kate is constantly teaching and Dani is dead again." She coughs, choked with tears, "It is all down to me. Alone." She collapses into Nikita's side, paralysed by tears.

Nikita wraps her arms around the teenager and holds her close rocking her back and forth. Softly, she begins, "You poor love. This is so unfair on you, isn't it." She feels Kim nod against her side and she smiles to herself gently. "We are back now and we are here for you."

"No, you are going to go again." Kim mumbles, "I heard Sasha talking to dad about you going to Cambodia."

Nikita winces, "I promised Dani, before she...." She stops herself unable to finish the sentence.

Kim looks up at Nikita, "It's ok, Niki. You can say it."

Nikita slumps her shoulders and kisses the top of Kim's head, "That's just it. I can't say it." She looks up at the sky and takes a deep breath, "It's daft, even though, it's impossible, I don't feel like she has gone. I can still feel her."

In a tiny voice, Kim whispers, "She's gone."

"In my mind, I know you are right. But, in my heart. I know she is still out there." Nikita says, with absolute conviction.

"I don't want her to be gone either." Kim says, sadly, "She saved me like an Angel and she could fly. I didn't think any thing would stop her, but she isn't coming back, is she?"

Nikita's heart breaks hearing the pain in Kim's voice and pulls her subtly closer. They sit in silence, sharing their grief wordlessly, neither wanting to admit Dani is gone.



Nikita carries Kim inside and sits the girl on her sofa. She takes her phone a sends a quick message to Sasha and Kurt simply saying, "Kim popped round here. I know it is your first morning together for a few weeks, so if you want some quality time together, I can look after her for a bit."

She makes a pot of tea and sets it on the table, after pouring a cup for herself and Kim. She sits next to her niece and settles back on the sofa.

Kim dries her eyes and blows her nose on a tissue, unable to look Nikita in the eyes. She takes a sip of tea and sets the cup down on the table, before hugging herself, "Niki? Can I talk to you?"

Nikita smiles gently and nods, "Of course, sweetie. You can tell me anything."

"I really missed Angel, when she first disappeared." Kim begins, unsure how to express herself. "She gave me a phone and told me that there was a number in it, where I could always reach her. I called it every night and left her a message, saying how much I missed her and wished she would come home."

Nikita reaches over and takes Kims hand in her own and whispers, "The is a really sweet thing to do."

Kim stares across the room, focusing on something just out of sight. "I left one every night for the first week." She pauses, looking down at the floor, "Then someone answered."

Nikita freezes feeling the weight of Kim's words, hit her like a pacific tidal surge, as Kim continues, "He said, he had been listening to my messages and he missed her too. He said, if ever I wanted to talk about her, he would listen."

"Kim. Who is he?" Nikita asks, suppressing the wave of nausea she feels rising within her.

"His name is Badger." Kim says, nervously.

"That's his name, but do you know who he is?" Nikita asks, warily.

"Not really." Kim says, chewing her lip.

Nikita pinches the bridge of her nose, feeling at once angry and afraid about this mans relationship with her niece,  but she keeps her tone light, "What kind of things do you talk about?"

"He is really nice. We talk about Angel and her adventures and how much we miss her. He was upset too, but we helped each other realise that while we kept her alive in our memories, she isnt gone." Kim says, solemnly.

"Don't be sad she is gone, be happy she was here." Nikita says, half remembering a wise man once saying. She stares at the ceiling for a moment struggling to find the words, "Kim. Did yiu talk about anything else?"

"We talked about lots of things. He told me about Angel and her crazy adventures. He asked a lot about Steve, Kate, you and Sasha, too." Kim says, without thinking.

"Did he ask you to send him anything? Pictures or videos? Anything like that?" Nikita asks, trying to keep her tone as light as possible.

"No, we just talked. Sometimes, when I was upset, he let me call and just put the phone by my bed and it was like I wasn't alone." Kim says, lightly.

They sit together, lost in their own thoughts, before Kim turns to Nikita sadly, "We need to tell dad and Sasha about this, don't we?"

"Afraid so." Nikita says, softly. She takes her nieces hand and looks her in the eye, "We can do it together."
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
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Post by wolfman »

Sasha and Nikita sit in Nikita's living room, staring at Kim's phone. Neither wants to reach for it, but both wish to spare the other from doing so.

"Who do you think he is?" Sasha asks, breaking the silence that hangs in the room.

"No idea, but he seems to have been trying to help Kim." Nikita says with a wave of her hand, "From what she was saying, he knew Dani well enough to miss her."

"Did Kim tell you where she found out how to escape from handcuffs?" Sasha asks, running her fingers through her hair.

"No, we didn't get to that in the end. We were both quite raw with emotion and I didn't want to push." Nikita says, with a tired smile.

"I wonder if this Badger told her?" Sasha asks, rhetorically.

"There is one way to find out." Nikita says, nodding towards the phone, "Shall we get this over with?"

"Yeah." Sasha says reluctantly, dreading what she will find out.

Seeing the range of emotions playing across her sisters face, Nikita nudges her, "Let me take the lead."

Sasha nods, "Ok." She pauses, putting her hands together  as if praying and presses her fingers to her pursed lips, "I am probably to close to this."

Nikita picks up the tiny phone and plugs in a dictaphone.  In her mind, she runs through every scenario she can imagine, each worse than the last. She takes a cigarette from a pack on the table and gets to her feet. "I need a smoke, before we do this."

Sasha nods and smiles, "I will never understand why you smoke. The effects must fade almost as fast as they hit, with your metabolism."

Walking towards the door, Nikita chuckles, "I don't get much from them, but I get enough." She pauses turning, "Dani did a thing where she made a dead man appear in the smoke of her cigarette. I hope that I can make her appear in the smoke of mine, just to tell her how much I miss her."

"I miss her too." Sasha says, sadly, "What would she do with Badger?"

"If he is on the level, she would be cool. If not he would be dead. No arguments. No questions. Dead." Nikita says smiling. 

"Very true." Sasha giggles, "Go and have a smoke. Then let's do this." 



The limousene, cuts through the Beijing streets like a low, sleek black insect, untouched by the smog and dust in the air.The vehicles blacked out windows giving no clue as to the occupants identities, as it cuts through the crowd.

The driver guides the vehicle with emotionless professionalism, weaving through the early evening traffic on the Chinese cities streets. He focuses on the road and his surroundings, ignoring the conversations in the vehicles decadently outfitted rear.

An impeccably dressed young man, sets down his tablet and passes his employer a chilled glass of Champagne, before settling back in his seat.

"I can't believe that they got away with it." Thorn says, raising his glass in a toast, reviewing the news that the Nirvana operatives that stopped his operation, have been cleared and that blame was laid at his door. "Much as it grieves me to say it, they played it perfectly." He says, with a grudging nod before taking a generous sip of Champagne.

"I would say more luck than judgement sir." His aide, says with a shrug.

"There is no way it was just luck." Thorn says draining his glass, "All of the men on La Palma, were deniable assets. None of the gear could have been traced to us. All the way along, right from the kidnap of the child, we have been careful. I don't understand it."

His aide refills his glass and offers, "Maybe someone talked, or left a memo out to be seen. Maybe something on the boat."

"Are we any closer to finding out what happened on the ship yet?" Thorn asks, nodding his thanks for the top up.

"Not really. Crew are keeping quiet on the matter, most have been released apart from the people Roberts took to go after the Kurt Smith and his daughter." The aide says, sitting back in his seat.

"What was Roberts playing at, taking one of the Armourers to go after the kid again?" Thorn asks, bemused, "Is there any sign of him?"

"No sir. We are still looking for him, but it is like he vanished off of the face of the earth." His aide says, checking the details on his tablet.

He turns to his aide and sharply continues, "Once we arrive at the retreat, I want a bounty placed upon each and every one of their heads. Roberts and any of the crew from the ship. Ten million US dollars each. They will not cross me again."

His aide looks up, nervously from his pad and nods, "Yes sir."

"Actually, I want them brought to me. I want to find out exactly what happened on that ship. Can you recruit a dozen experts in enhanced interrogation techniques?" He seethes, angrily.

"Yes sir. Would you like me to reach out to medical experts to keep them alive for longer, as well?" His aide, asks with a nod.

Thorn reclines, smoothing down the wrinkles in his white suit jacket. He looks thoughtfully at his aide, "Yes and while you are at it, give yourself a ten percent pay rise." He says, with an appreciative nod, "I like the way you think."

"Thank you very much, sir." His aide nods, with a gracious smile, "And what of the Marks and the Smiths?"

"Leave them be." He says, dismissively, "They have cost me enough. I wont waste any more money on petty vengeance."



"Hello Darlin" A voice says, after three rings, "This is a bit early for you, Is everything alright?" He asks warmly, in an accent from halfway between East London and downtown Niarobi.

Nikita resists the urge to answer straight away and waits.

"Kim?" The voice says.

"Who is this?" Nikita asks, coldly.

A clattering thud can be heard, before two sharp clicks, "Where is Kim?"

"She is safe. Now, who am I talking to?" Nikita says, holding up a hand to cut off Sasha before she speaks.

"Please let me speak to her." The man says, concerned, "Is she alright?"

"I found a phone on her and this was the only number programmed in. So I ask again, who is this?" Nikita says trying to get.

"I'm Badger." He says with a hint of desperation. "Please. Is she alright?"

"Calm yourself Badger. She is fine." Nikita says, "However, you need to explain to me why a grown man has been taking calls from a teenager, at all hours of the day and it had better be good."

"No. Wait that is not right." He says, with a hint of panic, "She called wanting to speak to Dani and needing a friend. I promise you that there is nothing dodgy going on."

"Do you have anything to do with her running around the woods, practicing escaping from handcuffs, learning to shoot and who knows what else?" Nikita asks, trying to keep her voice even.

"She said she was worried about her safety. Dani wrote us an operations manual, I sent her a copy." Badger admits, regretfully.

Sasha snatches up the phone, "Do you have any idea how stupid that is? She is just a teenager. You had better pray, I never get my hands on you."

He pauses and there appears to be the faint sound of an unintelligible female voice, before he speaks, "Sasha?"

Indignant, Sasha says in a low threatening voice, "You send my step daughter a copy of an operations manual containing God knows what, conduct secret phone calls with her, then call yourself Badger. We are not on fucking first name terms you prick. At best you can call me Mrs Smith."

"I am sorry. I meant no disrespect Mrs Smith." Badger says, contrite.

"So who are you are you anyway?" Sasha asks, coldy.

"Jim." He says, sadly. 

"How do you know Dani?" Nikita asks, hoping to get more our of this man.

"She helped us." Jim says, warily, "I want to tell you everything, but not over the phone, Miss Green."

Sasha and Nikita exchange a glance and Nikita shrugs, "Where what we meet?"

"Dani told you how to find us. Come when you are ready." He says, hanging up.



The limousene glides to a halt at a set of lights, resting like a predator stalking its prey. The heavy-set driver watches the crowd, through mirrored sunglasses, alert for the first signs of trouble.

Thorn sips ice cold champagne from an elegant glass and leans back in his seat. "Such a shame." He says gazing at the oblivious people around the vehicle, "It was a perfect plan, massive damage devastating vast tracts of South, Central and North America and decimate the Gulf of Mexico."

His aide leans forward, topping up his employer's glass, "Would have been a whole new world." He says, with a sigh and a shake of his head. 

"With the devastation, Venezuela would have been uninhabitable and it's oil fields, ripe for the taking. The mineral deposits of the Amazon, begging to be mined without the trees, tribes or eco warriors protecting them. I could even have picked up a couple of islands for a snap. But no. They had to get in the way." Thorn says, with grudging admiration in his voice.

His aide smiles, polishing his sun glasses, "There will be other times, sir." He says, resting his head back on the head rest.

"On the sixth day, God made man and on the seventh day he rested." Thorn crows, "On the seventh day, God should have made money."

"Well sir, you have proven time and again that you can make money on any day with a Y in it, so you are already superior to God." His aide says, softly clapping.



"You know this is a trap, right?" Sasha says, relaxing in a garden chair, in Nikita's back garden. The cold fingers of the morning prompt a light shiver, as they slip inside her light jacket.

Nikita leans back in her chair and lights a cigarette, "Maybe." She exhales a plume of smoke straight up, "He did sound genuinely worried about Kim and almost hurt when you had a go at him."

Sasha purses her lips thoughtfully and retrieves the dictaphone from her pocket. She hits play and sets the device down on the table between them. They listen in silence, as the conversation unfolds.

"Hard to tell." Sasha says, playing it again.

"I wonder what the woman says to him." Nikita says, thinking aloud.

"Will it stop you going, if you find out?" Sasha asks, already knowing the answer.

"Setting everything else aside, I promised Dani. I already feel, like I have put it off for too long." Nikita says, before taking a deep lungful of smoke.

"We don't have a lot of resources in Cambodia. We will be on our own." Sasha says, thoughtfully.

"Probably why she chose there as a base." Nikta says exhaling slowly, "You want to come?"

"Yes." Sasha says without hesitation, "We did say about a girls holiday when we were done with La Palma."

"I don't think that this will be much of a holiday."  Nikita warns, suddenly feeling a chill in the air. "I am not sure you should come."

"Why? Because I am pregnant?" Sasha says, raising an eyebrow.

"No, because Kim needs you." Nikita says, remembering her conversation with her, "You are already a great mum. Kim is proof of that." Sasha sits open mouthed, with surprise, while Nikita continues, "She wants to be there to protect the baby when it comes. But more than that, she wants to protect those she loves."

"What are you saying?" Sasha asks confused.

"Why learn from Dani's manual, when she can learn from you?" Nikita says, before exhaling smoke slowly, "I would love you to come with me, but you are needed here more."

"I hate it when you are right." Sasha says with a gently nod.

"Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if Lou and dad ask for tips decorating a nursery soon." Nikita says, keeping her tone light and innocent.

"Huh yeah." Sasha says with a snort of laughter, before looking up at her sister confused, "Wait. How did you know?"

Nikita simply winks and stubs out her cigarette.




The limousene winds its way through rain slicked streets cutting through the city like a sinister black knife, emerging from the city onto the open road and weaving a path around the ourtskirts of the city.

"Where are we going?" Thorn says, turning to the knock on the partition separating him from the driver, "This isn't the way to the airport."

The driver ignores his employer and continues to drive the vehicle sedately along the highway.

With inhuman strength and speed Thorn's aide strikes his employer, at the base of his skull, shattering his atlas and axis vertibrae. Thorn slumps forward in his seat, inertia and gravity causing him to turn towards his attacker. Paralysed from the neck down, he stares at his aide, mouthing the word, "Why?"

His aide watches his former employer pray for a breath, that he will never take. He stops the recording on his tablet and attaches it to an email. A moment later copies of the recording start hitting the inboxes of reporters and intelligence agencies across the world. 

Thorn's mouth hangs open and slack, as his unseeing eyes glaze over.

His aide leans over and takes his thumb, pressing it to a biometric sensor. He reads off the code and enters it into his tablet, triggering a full transfer of corporate and personal funds to charities across the globe.

The driver guides the limousene back towards the outskirts of Beijing. There was a time that the ex US marine would have stepped in to help his employer. However, that was yesterday. Before he was strangled to death by the belt of his trousers.

Thorn's aide looks on watching his employer die feeling no remorse for his actions. After all, remorse is a luxury of the living and the driver killed him, this morning.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
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Post by slackywacky »

Still catching up, I am on page 7, enjoying this tale very much. Thank you!
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt

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Caesar73
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Post by Caesar73 »

How Thorne met his well deserved fate? Great - and one of those unexpected turn of events I love so much in this story! :)
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Post by wolfman »

After a brutal three hour journey from Phnom Penh, the little minibus grinds to a halt in a shower of dust.
 
“Well I am in the right area.” Nikita says stretching, as she emerges into the fierce heat of a Kampot afternoon. In khaki cargo shorts and open short sleeved shirt over a white tank top, she looks like any other tourist. Even her foot ware is non-military, just a decent pair of walking boots.
 
Glad she packed light, a few clothes, multitool, phone, charger, binoculars, cigarettes and lighter, with a few other essentials, all stuffed into a small but sturdy back pack.
 
She adjusts the bag across her shoulders and begins to walk along the busy street.  The street is lined with street vendors and packed with people, but no one seems to be in a hurry. Her nose is assailed by the myriad scents of the stalls around her, with a subtle undertone of spice from the nearby jungle. She takes a moment feeling the lifepulses of those around.
 
Nikita lights a cigarette and leans against a nearby wall, “Everyone has a lifepulse. Every place has a rhythm too. A subtle ebb and flow, with eddies and currents like a river.”
 
She begins walking slowly north along the street, memorising the faces she sees, as she passes. “Everyone walking away from that vendor, has a brighter lifepulse, that is a good sign that the food is good at least.”
 
She perches on a bar stall and nods to the owner, “Prem?” She asks, hopefully.
 
The older Cambodian man dressed in cotton trousers and a black t-shirt, nods inscrutably.
 
“Can I have the special please?” She asks, using one of the few Khmer phrases she managed to learn on the plane.
 
He smiles at her accent and silently gives her a solid eight marks for trying. He loads a bowl with steamed rice, searing hot vegetables, prawns and fish and passes it to her.
 
“Thank you.” She says in broken Cambodian, eschewing a pair of chopsticks in favour of a fork and spoon. She sighs savouring the delicate flavours of the meal and thinks to herself, “I see why Dani recommended this place. This is the really excellent.”
 
She savours every morsel and licks her lips as she finishes. “That was good, I could face anything now.”
 
She thrusts a hundred dollar bill into Prem’s hand despite his protests and continues north along the street.
 
Nikita weaves a meandering path along the street, checking that she is not being followed and stopping periodically to purchase trinkets from the stalls.
 
The a bottle of water, she purchased from a vendor washes some of the dust out of her throat and leaves her feeling renewed. She ties her jet black hair back into a pony tail and rubs the bottle across the back of her neck.
 
“I can see why she set up shop here.” She thinks, with a smile at the stalls, trees and scent of the street. “It is like a different world.”
 
 
 
“Well, this must be the place.” Nikita says, standing at the threshold to the ancient Wat. She pulls off her boots, stuffing her socks inside them and clips them to her backpack.
 
She enters feeling a spiritual weight to the place filling her with a sense of calm. As she walks through the temple, she runs her fingers on the old stone, cherishing the rough feel of the walls against her skin, in contrast to the smooth intricately carved pillars of the temple.
 
She reverentially approaches the altar and lights a joss stick, feeling that, as the smoke rises from it, it takes a weight from her soul with her. She watches the gentle curl of the smoke, hoping to see her sister’s face within.
 
With a little sadness, but no surprise, she walks away from the joss stick, her hopes unfulfilled, but with a new sense of peace in her heart, “This is the kind of place Dani would have come, to find peace and renew herself.”
 
The old temple echoes with distant voices, like ghosts on the wind, as she navigates the grounds.
 
She takes a slow deep breath and reaches out feeling for the lifepulses around her, “Not many people about, might make it easier to find Brother Tran.”
 
 
 
Nikita sips from her water bottle and watches the only person onsite that she hasn’t spoken to yet. Stashing the bottle in her back pack, she thinks, “This has to be the one.”
 
She approaches the man from behind, making sure the gravel underfoot crunches with each step, so as to make sure she doesn’t startle the man.
 
He turns away from the vegetables he is tending and slowly rises to his feet. Strong but gentle work worn hands, brush the dust from his bright orange robes. He greets her with a gentle smile that deepens every wrinkle on his face.
 
“Brother Tran?” Nikita asks, hopefully.
 
His warm brown eyes twinkle, as he nods.
 
“Here we go.” She thinks, taking a deep breath before saying, “I am Nikita Green.”
 
His smile widens with a feeling of warmth. He nods and turns, beckoning her to follow.
 
She follows respectfully behind him and scrutinises his lifepulse. “He could be anywhere between sixty and eighty. Good shape for a man of his age. Muscles shaped gently by a lifetime of hard word. The only thing wrong with him is.” She covers her mouth with her hand, “Someone removed his tongue about forty years ago.”
 
She places a gentle hand on his shoulder, he turns with a kind smile. “What happened to you?” she signs.
 
“I said the wrong thing at the wrong time.” He signs back, “You don’t have to use sign language to speak, I can still hear.” He smiles and winks
 
She smiles back at him, “Sorry.” She pauses, “I can help with that.”
 
“I don’t see how. The surgeons said that they couldn’t help.” He signs with a shrug, “Even if you could, nothing good ever came of the words that left my mouth. Now my hands speak for me, both with sign language and good works. I am at peace with that.”
 
 
 
Nikita reclines rear of the Tuk Tuk and marvels at the jungle lining the edges of the barely visible track.
 
The birds and bugs chirp, barely audible over the continuous phut-phut-phut of the vehicles small engine.
 
The sweet spice of the jungle reminds Nikita of something that is just out of her grasp, nevertheless, she drinks its heady aroma deeply.
 
Tran guides the Tuk Tuk, taking in the meandering path slow and steady as they penetrate the heart of the countries interior.
 
They travel for a little over an hour. Time seems to have little meaning in this place. Without the distraction of conversation Nikita closes her eyes and reaches out to the lifepulses around her, feeling the quiet power of this place.
 
“It feels like I am still and the world is moving.” She thinks as Brushland, waterways, fields and dense jungle pass by the outside of the old Tuk Tuk.
 
With a screech of brakes and a cloud of dust, she is shaken from her reverie. Nikita looks around confused, until she notices Tran pointing up ahead.
 
 
 
The Indochinese Leopard is tearing at the flank of a dead Banteng in the middle of the road. The sleek, hundred and sixty pound, cat exudes raw power and even from ten metres away, the whipcord muscles under its fur can be seen at work.
 
“Can we go around?” She whispers, softly.
 
Tran shakes his head and signs, “This is the only path.”
 
She nods gravely and slowly climbs out of the back of the Tuk Tuk. She locks eyes with the big cat, as she steps past Tran, patting his shoulder gently.
 
She reaches out for the cats lifepulse and slows her breathing. The Leopard edges away from the Banteng and they begin to circle. Nikita feels herself begin to focus and remembers the feeling of relaxation in the bath tub, as she floated.
 
The Leopard looks around confused, unsure of what is happening, as she feels her heart rate slow down. Nikita feels the big cat become sluggish, approaching it with caution.
 
The cat lays down on the path and stretches its jaw, allowing Nikita to approach. “You are a beautiful creature aren’t you.” She coos soothingly, reaching down to stroke its silken flank.
 
With long slow strokes down the centre of the cats back she softly speaks, “Sleep well girl, time for you to rest. It must be tough ruling this jungle, I hope you are not alone.” Nikita strokes the Leopard and takes a moment to heal a small cut on the big cats leg, “You have a good sleep now, when you wake you can feast and rule this place anew.”
 
Satisfied that the Leopard is asleep, she quietly rises to her feet and drags the Bateng off of the road. Returning a moment later to scoop up the Leopard and gently lay it down by the Bateng. With a final stroke of its fur, she returns to the Tuk Tuk.
 
Tran watches Nikita’s return in disbelief, signing, “If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t believe it.”
 
Nikita winks at the old monk and smiles, “Slip it out of gear, I will push it past the cat so we don’t wake it.”
 
 
 
They plough on through the jungle, and slow as the undergrowth thins. Nikita raises an eyebrow, realising that for the past few minutes they have been climbing. A movement to her right, pulls her gaze and she spots a valley through the bushes, extending away from the hillside.
 
As the sun begins to dip toward the horizon and the first oranges and purples of the sunset ripple the sky, Tran eases the Tuk Tuk to a halt and turns to Nikita. “We are here.” With a wistful look in his eyes, he signs, “Dani told me about you, but didn’t tell me what to expect. For the first time in a long life, today, I have been surprised.”
 
“You are one up on me, she hasn’t told me anything about what to expect.” Nikita admits, with a smile.
 
“Enter with an empty mind and fill it with what you find.” Tran signs and smiles gently, “Of all those in your family, she only approached you to come.”
 
“Do you know why?” Nikita asks, trying to get a read on Tran.
 
The older man shakes his head and gazes upon her with kind eyes. “I don’t know why specifically.” He signs, “But, what I do know is, she never asked for help. The fact she came to you, tells me that she thought very highly of you.”
 
Nikita blushes slightly, “Did Dani tell you anything about what I will find?” Nikita asks, gently.
 
“Everything and nothing.” He signs with an enigmatic smile, “You need to see with your own eyes, not mine.”
 
Nikita rolls her eyes with a smile, “Walk the path without a map and see where the journey takes me, eh?”
 
Tran gives the thumbs up with a warm grin. “You are ready.” He signs, with a sage nod.
 
“This is it, huh?” She says, shrugging on her backpack. “Where to from here?”
 
“Far side of the valley, you will know where.” Tran says, passing her a bottle of water from the cooler next to him.
 
“Will I see you again?” Nikita asks, with a tinge of sadness.
 
“All things are possible. Our paths may cross again.” Tran signs, with an inscrutable smile.
 
She gives him a gentle hug and then, she climbs out of the Tuk Tuk and takes a sip from the bottle. She watches the old monk drive away, waving a silent goodbye. “I wonder where he is off to now.”
 
 
 
Nikita moves quickly, alert for anything. Silent as a ghost she treads light as a feather, despite the weight of her densely muscled body. The leaf litter underfoot, bears no trace of her passing.
 
Above the canopy, the first stars glint in the gathering darkness and a chorus of insects begins their nightly ululations.
 
Below the canopy Nikita feels one with the jungle. She hears every insect, birds and mammal. She memorises each and every one, remembering their positions. She advances cautiously until she feels something different.
 
 
 
She stands before the door of the well concealed house. Looking up, she thinks “Invisible from the air, concealed from the paths, middle of nowhere. Good place for it.”
 
She counts off the lifepulses in the building and under her feet and nods to herself. “Well I know how many, but not who.”
 
She dusts herself down and puts her socks and boots back on, before running her fingers through her hair. She lights a cigarette and draws deeply, “They are either oblivious to me being here or expecting me. No one seems to be running around in a panic, all seems quiet.”
 
She takes a moment and walks slowly around the perimeter of the house, unable to see in through the windows. Her boots make a soft thud on the decking as she walks, “Loud enough to be heard, but not so load that they think it is an army.” She thinks, watching the lifepulses of the houses inhabitants.
 
“No reaction. I guess they are expecting me.” She decides, releasing a plume of smoke towards the canopy.
 
Her eyes fall upon a softly glowing table and chairs off to the side of the house and approaches cautiously, “This is the right place.” She thinks seeing the ash tray on the table, recently cleaned.
 
She stubs out her cigarette in the ashtray and turns back to the house. “Time to find out what Dani was hiding.”
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
wolfman
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 1176
Joined: 4 years ago

Post by wolfman »

Nikita waits after knocking the door to the jungle house. She senses a single figure approaching the door and relaxes her body, ready for anything. she hears a muffled voice from the man approaching.

The door opens slowly, the man opening stepping back as the doors swings inward. She observes a range of emotions play out across his features and appraises him, "First the obvious, black guy, grey breads and beard, six feet two inches tall, slim but toned. I would guess early twenties, if he is a day. Not sure about the sunglasses, indoors and in the evening, either has a vision issue or is a fashion victim. This could be Badger."

"Badger?" Nikita says, keeping her expression even.

Badger's chiselled, mocha looks are split with a smile of pure white teeth, "It is so good to finally meet you." 

Warily Nikita extends her hand, "Nice to meet you too."

"Please come in." He asks, warmly shaking her hand.

"Thank you." She tentatively steps across the threshold, alert and ready. 

Badger leads the way and keeps an easy pace, walking through the house. The cool air of the interior, a sharp constrast to the brutal humidity of the jungle outside. The sparsely furnished interior is fully functional but like the air, lacks warmth. "I am guessing above ground is for formal meetings and underground is where the actual living takes place." She thinks, following Badger.

"I gotta say, the nickname Badger is a bit on the nose." She says, casually, "Black guy with Grey hair, really?"

He gives a long deep chuckle, "Nah, it's cause, I am a bit of a loner, can move fast in short bursts and suggested we extend the house underground." He looks back, flashing another smile of white teeth, "Call me Jim."

"Fair enough, Jim." She says coolly, trying to work out what's going on.

The man sat on the sofa, turns startled to see her standing in the room. He stands cautiously and wipes his hands on his jeans, before nervously walking over to the newcomer, "Very nice to finally meet you. I am Carl." He says in a strong east London accent. "Well done for surviving Tran's driving. He has inspired more faith behind the wheel that he ever has at the temple."

"His driving isn't that bad." Nikita says in defence of the kindly monk.

"He shouldn't be driving at his age." Carl says, playfully, "You do realise, that he is so old, when he went to school, they didn't have history lessons."

Nikita's stifles a smile at his humour and takes his hand warmly, appraising him, "Working mans' hands, strong grip, arms like jackhammers, hair like a surfer. Similar age to Badger, I would guess. I am about five feet eight, he is maybe a little taller than me."

"Don't mind him, he is just annoyed that whenever he crosses the street, he smacks his ass on the kerb. Shall we save the points scoring until Nikita has sat down at least?" Jim says, indicating a seat.

Nikita removes her back pack and after weighing up the options, takes a seat opposite the sofa where the three men sit side by side. "They seem at ease with each other. Long time friends perhaps. They all seem about the same age, maybe friends from school." She thinks, reclining in a handmade wing back chair. 

She leans forward in her chair and gently cups her right fist in her left palm, "So." She begins, "Whose in charge?"

The men exchange confused gazes and Badger takes the lead, "Well, er, you are."

Her brow furrows warily, "What do you mean?"

"Dani said, if she couldn't come back, she would ask you to come." He explains, giving an open handed gesture, "She said you would know what to do, if she was unable to return."

Nikita runs her fingers through her hair, with a thoughtful look on her face, while she chooses her words carefully. "Ok, we'll come back to that." She says, thoughtfully,  "So is it just you two and the couple downstairs?"

"Mike and Chelle have retired for the day. He is an old school legend and scary as hell. Fey and Hel have gone to the local reserviour to watch the sunset. We weren't sure if or when you were coming, If we'd known, they would be here now." Jim says, apologetically.

"I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they come in and see you here." Carl says, with a grin.

"I will be ready with a camera." Jim says, with a smile.



Jim's smile fade when he sees the calm, serious look on Nikita's face and braces himself when she opens her mouth to speak. "Jim, I need you to tell me everything about your conversations with Kim."

Jim leans forward and puts his head in his hands, "The messages that poor girl left were heartbreaking to hear. She sounded so alone. I couldn't just stand by and not help her."

Nikita nods sympathetically, "I see." She says, thinking, "He seems genuine at least. Body language is open and lifepulse steady."

"Tell me about the times you spoke to her." She says, gently, "And I need you to bear in mind, I will be passing the details to Sasha."

Jim swallows nervously and looks up, "We talked of our feelings of loss and our memories of Dani. I told her some of Dani's adventures and things that she did with us." He smiles to himself, at some unspoken memory, "Don't worry, nothing X-rated. Only the cool stuff."

Nikita nods to herself, monitoring his life pulse, "He seems to be telling the truth at least." She thinks before asking, "Why did you send the operations manual?"

"She needed a reason to believe in her self, something else to think about. I sent the manual so she could have something positive to focus on. I promise, I took out the really dangerous stuff." Jim says, pleadingly.

"Nikita, we were all in on it, not just Badger. We all listened to the messages and the calls. We made the decision together." Carl says, gently, before adding, "She seemed such a sweet kid. We all felt for her. In a way it was easier for us, as we had longer with Dani and had each other." Carl adds, earnestly.

Nikita keeps her breathing even and holds back the tears that threaten to flow freely, "Poor little bugger. While we were stuck in hearings and Kurt was trying to hold it together, there was no one there for her." She thinks, sadly, "We let her down."

"Can you play the messages?" She asks, keeping her tone professional.

"Ah, yeah, sure." Jim says, pulling out his cell phone and preparing to play the messages. "Should be in the right order."



Kim's voice is shaky and tearful as she speaks, "Dad tells me that you have gone away and won't be coming back, but I don't believe him. I know you wouldn't go without saying goodbye." She sniffs back tears and continues, shakily, "You said that if I ever needed you, I should call this number. I really need you Angel. Sasha, Niki, Steve, Lou and Kate have been arrested. Everyone is blaming them for the bomb in the sea. I know you aren't dead. You are an angel, you can't die. Please come back and save them."

The second message plays straight after the first, "Angel please come back, we need you." Kim pleads, "I need you. You rescue people when they are in trouble. Everyone is in trouble, I don't know what to do. Dad is constantly on the phone with lawyers, but no one seems able to help. There's nothing I can do. I know you could fix this, please come back."

"Angel, please pick up. I am so scared. Dad wont say anything but he is worried about Sasha and the others going to prison for crimes against the environment. Please you have to come back. Don't let the baby be born in prison. It's innocent and hasn't done anything wrong. Everyone tried to save the world and they are being punished. We need you, please come back." Kim weeps freely, during the third message.

"The police came today." Kim begins tearfully, "They arrested dad while they searched our home. I don't feel safe anymore. The police can come and go as they please. But we are trapped by the reporters around our house and everyone else is locked up. They came in and searched everywhere apart from the armoury, they didn't know about that." Kim weeps freely, before she can speak again, "I can't sleep, I am waiting for the police to come again and mess up our things. Angel, why aren't you here?"

"Angel, please come back." The fifth message begins, "We have had some good news. Dad says that if Sasha goes to prison the baby will still come home to us and we can look after it." Kim pauses and there is a sound of shuffling on the line, "Dad is cool, but he is not you. If anything happens, no one can help us, it is just me and dad." Sadly she continues in a heart breaking tone, "I am so useless, the only thing I can do is call you and I can't even do that."

The last message starts with a pause, "The latest from the hearings is that everyone is going to prison, unless there is some kind of miracle." She sniffs back tears, "Dad is still raging down the phone at the family lawyers and I feel so alone. I have lost everyone. You, Sasha, Niki, Steve, Lou, Kate, everyone. When the baby comes, I am scared that someone will come and take it away too and I will be too weak to stop them. I wish I wasn't so useless. I wish I was like you. Strong and awesome and able to do anything, instead all I am good at is being a victim." Kim pauses, crying heavily, before wailing "Why did you have to go away?"



Nikita wipes a tear from her cheek and lights a cigarette to steady her nerves, in the silence that follows the end of the last message.

"The night she left that, we decided that if she called again, I would answer." Jim says, resting his chin on his fist. "We didn't want her to keep torturing herself. The plan was that I would let her down gently." He smiles to himself, "When I answered, she spoke to me like I was the only person, who ever listened to her. Turns out we both needed a friend and we talked for a few hours, about everything and nothing. At the end of that first call, I think we were both healed a little."

Nikita exhales a ragged cloud of smoke and smiles gently, thinking carefully how to respond before speaking, "Thank you, Jim. I appreciate you being there when I couldn't be."

"We know she is special to you. Dani said what you did to those people smugglers when you tasted her tears. To be fair, after that first call, if Dani hadn't told us to stay put, I think we would all have been on a plane for her." Carl says, warmly.

"Yeah, she does have that effect." Nikita says, thinking of Kim's cheeky smile.



"Nikita can I ask you something?" Carl asks, nervously.

"Sure." Nikita asks, still trying to work out what the situation is with this place.

"What happened when you went to La Palma?" Carl shifts in his seat, "Dani sent her last message before you went in. Can you please tell us what really happened to her?"

Nikita notice that Carl and Jim, both lean forward subtly, as he was asking, "She seems to have meant a lot to them. If I am going to find out what is going on here, I think I need to give them something." She thinks, with a nod.

"She had a wild plan. The reserve teams dropped first, then we dumped some fuel. At that point Sasha, Dani and I jumped." She begins, "We dropped without parachutes. We wore motorcycle leathers and each had an autoshotgun loaded with twelve gauge grenades."

The men listen in open mouthed shock as she continues, "Dani used pure force of will to allow us to fly around the valley and engage from the air. When our weapons were dry and all targets neutralised we landed and proceeded into the main steam vent. We swept the vent system and eventually got to the dive pool that the hostiles had created. After the vent system was secured we went for the device and the decision was made to take it out to sea. Dani effectively drew the short straw. As a result, she saves millions of lives."

Carl throws back his head with a roar of laughter, "Love it. That is the kind of humour we like here. But seriously, what really happened?"

Nikita just looks at him and smiles, cocking an eyebrow.



"What happens now?" Nikita asks, watching the men.

"That depends on you. Dani put you in charge." Carl says, "She said she trusted. That is good enough for us."

Nikita pinches the bridge of her nose hard and then looks up at the men, "Ok, if I am going to do that, no more games, no more evasions. I need you to tell me what the deal with this place."

The joviality of the men, dissipates instantly, "Dani didnt tell you. Did she?" Badger asks dismayed.

"Tell me what?" Nikita asks, impatiently.

"Did Dani tell you anything about us at all." Jim asks, fearfully.

"No. She just said if anything happened to her to come here and I would know what to do." Nikita says, with a mixture of fear and curiousity. "I am guessing that she based her operations here because it is out of the way and the place has a certain peace to it."

"You are not wrong there. No one asks questions and we can do what we need to." Carl confirms.

"But you two don't make sense. I cant work out why Dani hired you?" Nikita says, watching the men's reactions. "Don't get me wrong, you are likeable enough, but you don't seem like the types of guys, she would bring in."

Jim's face is a mask of dismay, whilst Carl is a little harder to read. Nikita watches as the men exchange a glance and Jim nods, grimly.

Carl gets up from the sofa and fills a half pint glass with brandy. He gently sets the glass down next to Nikita's ash tray and gives her a supportive pat on the shoulder. "I am sorry you had to find out like this."
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
wolfman
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 1176
Joined: 4 years ago

Post by wolfman »

"Africa." Badger says, hating Dani for putting him in this position.

"What about it?" Nikita asks, wearily, lighting a cigarette, "Bear in mind it took me a long time to get here."

“You brought more back than you killed.” Badger says, with a thousand yard stare.

“What do you mean?” Nikita asks, staring at the man.

“After you killed everyone and brought them back. You brought back some that you didn’t kill. You didn't know about the secret door at the back of Lund’s office, to a large walk in freezer containing their bodies. Some bodies were in too poor a condition to be brought back, but not all.” Badger explains, his voice tinged with pain.

He composes himself, before continuing, “The glass cabinets holding your body parts, were cracked already. Dani suspected that when the army bombed the facility, the vibrations shattered them. At that point, they flooded the floor with body parts and PCS infused fluid. Those you brought back, bathed in the fluid, but were too weak to lift themselves out of it."

Nikita sits still as stone, listening, despite the voice in her head screaming “No.”

“They absorbed so much of it. Their ruined bodies, rebuilt themselves and unleashed a hunger within them.” Badger explains, nervously, "They consumed all they could get their hands on.."

“Dani was with the pride, they seemed agitated and the Lioness told her that there was a problem." He closes his eyes and steels herself, "At the foot of the plateau, they found the bodies of soldiers assigned to guard what was left of the facility. The bodies were torn limb from limb. Dani and the lioness followed their scent but they were so fast, it took them two days to catch up.” Badger’s lips tremble at the story Dani told him, “They killed an elephant on the first day, stripped it to the bone, trying to sate their hunger. On the second day, Dani found them at the edge of the jungle, just finishing off a family of water buffalo.”

“Who were they?” Nikita asks, a part of her already knowing the answer.

“The PCS had changed them in a similar way to Sasha. They weren’t as fast, agile or strong as her, but together they were a formidable force. It took the lioness and Dani, a week of solid fighting to burn through their reserves and flush the PCS from their system.” Badger says, wearily.

Nikita, feels her claws, start to emerge as her pulse quickens, “She killed them, didn’t she?”

Carl nudges Jim, "I know this is tough for you to talk about. Do you want me to finish?"

Jim nods, prompting Carl to ask, "Whole truth?" 

"I still can't say it out loud." Jim says, withdrawing into himself.

Carl takes a deep breath and nods, “She kept us chained up for two weeks, fed us and cared for us. We fought her every step of the way, but gradually, we all came back to our senses." He says, unable to maintain the pretence. He stares at the floor unable to look Nikita in the eyes.

"We?" Nikita asks, her breathing rapid and shallow, "Who are you?" She asks, already knowing the answer.

Badger removes his sunglasses, allowing his sharp blue eyes to shine from his dark skinned face and see her unfettered, "My name is James Okoye." The words catch in his throat, before he can continue, "I am your brother."

Carl looks into her eyes, "I am Carl Graves. Hel is Helen Carver and Fey is Amy Woodruff. Nice to meet you sis." 

Nikita smiles, gazing at the men before her, "Nice to meet you guys." She shaes her head gently and laughs softly, "For fucks sake Dani, why didn't you sake something?"



"That settles that then." Nikita says to herself, rinsing Carl's toothbrush under the tap, as his life flashes before her eyes. "They are who they say that they are."

Nikita brushes her teeth with her own tothbrush and wets her hands, before rubbing water on her face and hair. She places her hands on the sink and stares at her reflection. "God damn it Dani. Why didn't you say something?" She thinks, bitterly.

She softly weeps, "If I hadn't died, I would have known. Why didn't she just come to us?"

"She just wanted to be the saviour. Come rolling in saving everyone and solving everyones problems, so she can get all the glory." She thinks, bitterly.

She slaps her cheeks lightly, to wake herself up a little, "No, that isn't like her. She wouldn't do that."

With tired hands, she fills the sink with cold water and plunges her face into it. "Don't be daft, you would have done the same thing. Keep them hidden until you are sure Lund and Medteqniq are gone, before bringing them back into the world."

She shakes her head, letting the cold water refresh her skin and revitalise her. "The question is what to do now. They seem settled. Would they even want to leave?"

Before she has time to consider the question, a commotion from the living room, draws her attention. With a rough towel dry of her face and hair she leaves the bathroom and returns to her brothers.



With a concerned look, Jim puts the call onto speaker, "Hel slow down what's going on?"

A pained voice, choked with tears, speaks quietly and quickly, "We screwed up. Fey is in trouble and I don't know what to do."

"Easy girl. What happened?" Jim says in a calm, reassuring tone.

"A group of kids was snatched off of the street this morning. Fey convinced me to go to the scene. When we got there I got a flash off of a discarded drinks can used by one of the men. We found where they are keeping the girls and Fey went in to try to free them, but they got her." Hel explains, in a babbling panic. "I don't know what to do."

Carl and Jim exchange a fearful look. Jim opens his mouth to speak, but stops when Nikita places a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Hello Helen, calling was half of the solution. This will be ok." She says in a calm, measured tone. "I need you to tell me a few things so we can help."

"Wait. Who is this?" Hel asks, confused.

"This is Niki. Sorry we aren't talking under better circumstances." She says, warmly.

"You actually came?" Hel asks, in disbelief, her tears momentarily forgotten.

"'I'm here." Nikita says as much a statement of support, as it is a statement of fact. "Are you hurt?"

"No. I stayed in the warehouse and she scouted ahead. I don't understand how they got her, she is like a ghost." Hel says distantly.

"The main thing is that you are safe and we are on our way. Can you please confirm your location?" Nikita says, trying to keep Hel on track.

"I am hiding in an abandoned warehouse across the street, from where Fey is." Hel explains, trying to stay calm.

"You are doing very well Hel." Nikita leans down and whispers to Jim, "Can you trace location and give me an ETA?", to which he gives a thumbs up.

"I need you to listen to me, very carefully now." Nikita says, gently but firmly, "I need you to keep out of sight. If you get any sense you are in danger, get out of there. Do you understand?"

Feeling a sense of calm wash over her, Hel nods, "Yes ma'am."

"This will be alright." Nikita assures her. 

Jim gives a thumbs up, "I have her location, ETA one hour."

"Did you hear that? We will be there in about an hour." Nikita says, calmly. "Would you like Jim to stay on the line to keep you company?"

Jim gives the thumbs up, as Hel says, "Yes please." She pauses, with the sound of ragged breathing on the line, "Please hurry."

"We will be there as soon as we can be. I promise." Nikita pauses, nodding to herself, "Be strong, you are not alone."



Nikita looks up, sharply asking "Carl, what vehicles do we have?"

He stammers, "Just a couple of dirt bikes."

"Excellent." Nikita says, focused, "Can you get a back pack and put a change of clothes for Fey in it? Then wearing gloves, go through the laundry, get an item or two of her dirty clothing and put them into a sealable bag."

"On it." Carl says, springing into action.

"Jim, do you need to stay here to keep Hel on the line?" She says, quickly.

"No, I have a wearable rig with connection is via satellite uplink. I can control it, just by having part of the set up in physical contact." Jim explains, getting to his feet, and retrieving a set of combat webbing from a storage cupboard and loading the pouches with bluetooth devices, powerpacks and several networked Raspberry Pi's.

"Ok." Nikita says confused, "We will talk about that."

"Not much to say. With a thought, I can control any machine or device I can touch." Jim says with a shrug.

"That is very cool." Nikita says, straightening up, "Ok everyone, we roll in three minutes, grab any equipment you need. Lets do this."

"Do you need weapons?" Jim asks, opening a storage locker.

"No, I am good. Grab whatever weapons you need and I will be fine." She says, putting a folding backpack into the pocket of her cargo shorts.

Jim freezes, then looks at her, "Dani and Mike have trained us, but apart from a couple of little scouting jobs Fey's done, none of us have gone live."

"No drama, I will do the heavy lifting. Just need you and the Carl armed for security, on the way there and back." Nikita says with a wink. She smiles to herself, thinking, "Sounds about right, Dani gave them the skills to face anything, but brought them here and shielded them from the world."

Her brow furrows slightly and she looks up at Jim, "Who is Mike anyway?"

"He is a friend of dad's. Mike Ryan, former copper and an expert at stealth." Jim explains, taking a handgun and holster from the storage locker, then reaching for a Russian SMG.

"Huh. Interesting. I have heard of him, but never actually met him." Nikita says,with a smile. "I think I would like a coffee with him. From what dad has said, he is an interesting guy."



They ride in relative silence through the jungle, under a cloudy sky threatening rain. Carl brings up the rear while, Jim leads with Nikita riding pillion.

"Let me get this right, Hel can touch an object and get an impression of it's history. You can touch an object and control it with your mind. Anything else I should know?" Nikita asks, over the noise of the bikes engine.

"Ah, yeah." He says ducking a branch, "Carl can sense the weak point in any object and anything he builds is stronger than it should be. So far Fey hasn't shown anything, but she is good at the stealth stuff."

"Interesting." Nikita says, absent mindedly, "You and Carl would make a strong project team. Carl could build whatever and identify weakness and you could test it to hell and back."

"That is how we have been working. This is about the twelfth rig I have had, due to the number of rebuilds." Jim says warmly, "Hel was instrumental in identifying targets when we were going after Medteqniq."

Nikita nods to herself, thinking, "Dani had a great set up here. Between Jim and Hel, she could track down anyone. Any specialist gear she needed could be designed and made by Jim and Carl. If Fey is good at the stealth side, she would be a scout. No wonder she was able to go after Lund and MTN so effectively."

"This might not be what you are used to, but, it will be ok." Nikita says over the noise of the dirt bikes as they race along a poorly used track.

"What's the plan?" Carl calls out.

"Use the building opposite as a staging area. I need you two to secure the building, Hel to set up a reception area and I will get Fey." Nikita explains.

"How are you going to get her out?" Jim asks, curiously.

"Quick and quiet. If it comes down to it, I can pick her up and carry her if I have to." Nikita says, emersing herself in a calming meditation.

"She is only a little thing, you should be ok." Jim says, assuringly.

"No drama,  I can bench press about twelve tons." Nikita say off-handedly. To which Jim raises his eyebrows and gives a low whistle.

"Dani would have smoked a cigarette, with an intense look on her face. Armoured up, taken a bike loaded down with guns and explosives and declared war on them." Carl says, with a sense of loss.

Sensing a shift in mood from her brothers, Nikita smiles, "Guns and armour? I wont even be wearing clothes when I storm the place." She says with a twinkle in her eyes.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
NotSeen
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Post by NotSeen »

Looks like one of them Niki moments is about to happen...
wolfman
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Post by wolfman »

Two hours earlier

They crouch side by side in the warehouse, opposite the former office block that has been repurposed for unsavory enterprises. Hel crouches by an old partition, that was once used as a wall for an office, dressed in light cargo pants and tank top, with lightweight walking shoes. She shrugs her small backpack off of her shoulders and retrieves a pair of infra-red binoculars.

Fey re-ties the laces of her running shoes and folds her jacket and places it atop Hel's backpack, leaving her only in cargo shorts and a T-shirt. She crouches next to her sister and nudges her, waiting for the binoculars. Hel hands them over and thinks to herself, "We shouldn't be here."

Fey passes the binoculars back and uses an elastic band to tie back her hair, slowing her breathing ready to become Unseen, just like Uncle Mike taught her. She rises slowly from the crouch and looks down at Hel. "I am going to go in, scout out the locations of the prisoners and concentrations of hostiles."

Hel springs to her feet next to her sister, standing a full head taller than Fey's slightly build five foot frame, "You can't do this Fey. We should just tell the authorities and get out of here."

"I will just have a look and make notes, strictly no contact." Fey confirms, slipping a mobile phone and a paper bag into the pocket of her cargo shorts.

"This is too dangerous. What if something goes wrong? Dani is not here to save you." Hel begs, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Then you and the guys will have to do it." Fey says, with a glint in her eye, prompting a look of horror from Hel. Fey holds up her hands with wide eyes, "I will not take any risks, I swear. In and out, then we call the authorities and evac."

"Let me call the guys first at least." Hel says, checking her pockets, for her phone.

"No time." Fey says, softly.

Hel looks up, with her phone in hand and realises, she is alone.



The two men stood at the door, desperately trying not to look like they are watching the street for signs of trouble, stand ready. The shorter of the two men, pulls a packet of cigarettes and offers one to his partner. The taller one holds up his hand and subtly shakes his head, while his colleague lights one and returns to his vigil.

A sharply-dressed, slim Cambodian walks purposefully along the corridor, nodding to his men as he passes them. "This is the best crew I have ever used and in four hours, we will all be rich." He mutters to himself.

Peng sits alone, nursing a cup of coffee ashamed of what he has done today. He pulls out his phone and texts his wife. The message simply reads, "I am coming home. I can't do this anymore." Without a word he drains his cup and walks towards the exit.

The lower holding cell holds twenty girls packed in tightly, all scream for their parents. But the only people that can help are three men holding handguns, pretending that they are somewhere else.

Several men stand in a circle placing bets on the fighting chickens in their centre. The larger black chicken lashes out with the metal spike on it's left leg catching the air, as the smaller chicken dances out of the way, lashing out. The cockerels circle each other with quiet menace and subtly tense their legs , springing simultaneously at each other.

The upper cells are smaller than the lower cells, but if anything are more densely packed. Those within have given up calling for their loved ones to save them, knowing that they will never see those that they love again. They simply, stand in their own filth and wait for whatever fate awaits them.

A woman lays on a filthy cot bed and looks up at the man who paid for her time with a bag of white powder. She stares at the ceiling, bored, hoping that he finishes soon, so she can get home and have a shower, to cleanse herself of his stink.

Five women lay chained to beds in adjacent rooms, each saying a silent prayer to whomever may come and save them, before the men return from their shift.

All these things and much more proceed, blissfully unaware  that a petit blond girl is watching unseen, sending reports back to her sister.



Fey slips unnoticed into a side room and sits on the floor, with her head in her hands, trying to unsee, everything that has happened tonight. "This is too real, this is awful. How can people do this to each other?"

She swallows hard, fighting the rising of her gorge in her throat. As she breathes in, she inhales the smell of this place and her mind races imagining the horrors these walls have witnessed.

Her breathing quickens, almost uncontrollably and she feels her head start to swim, while the walls close in on her. She pulls a paper bag from her pocket and places it over the mouth and nose and tries to focus. She feels herself begin to calm down but keeps the bag in place.

"Breath in, one. Hold, one, two. Breath out, one, two, three." She repeats over and over, like a mantra.

Eventually her breathing returns to normal and she can focus again. "Let's get this done and get out of here."



Fey stalks the corridor of the upper floor of the block and flinches hearing a wet sounding thud from a room up ahead. She takes a deep breath and approaches the room, cautiously. She risks a peek around the edge of the door frame a her blood turns to ice.

The Caucasian man stands well over six feet tall, the rippling muscles of his back glisten with sweat, in the buildings dimly lit gym. His breathing is ragged, but slowing as if recovering from a work out. He lets the child sized bundle, wrapped in rags, slip from his grasp to land with a dull thud and pulls his leg back to deliver a mighty kick.

"'If I hadn't had a panic attack, I could have been here soon enough to save that child." She berates herself bitterly.

"Bastard." Fey screams with tears in her eyes as she charges into the room. "How could you?" She wails, leaping at the man and drawing back her right fist. 

With the practiced ease of an expert in sambo, he catches her by the thoat, in mid air and mumbles something in Russian. Fey claws at his hand and tries to beat his arm struggling to free herself from his grip. She lashes out with her legs, ineffectively striking his chest.

Her eyes bulge, as he casually raises her in the air, by her throat and then slams her down on the floor, hard onto her back. Tears flow from her eyes, when his hand releases her neck and she chokes for breath. The PCS that brought her back to life, has augmented her body to the point where she is stronger than most, but it is meaningless against this beast of a man.

She struggles in vain, when he crosses her hands at the wrists and presses them to her chest. Her heart sinks when she sees the duct tape in his free hand and hears the burr of the tape, as he tapes her hands together across her chest and then begins to wind the tape around her body pinning her arms to her body. "Get the fuck off of me, you bastard." She cries, knowing that she will never get her arms free without help.

The Russian painfully pins her ankles together with one of his massive hands, before wrapping them with tape. Fey squirms and tries to twist away, but is no match for the inexorable progress of the tape up her legs. 

"Let me out of this, you fucker." She spits at him. She grunts in pain, when he grabs her pony tail and pulls her into a sitting position. He wraps the tape around her mouth, brutally sealing her mouth, with the last of the roll. 

He pushes her roughly onto her back and slowly gets to his feet and walks over to a large punch bag and pulls it off of it's hook. He mutters to himself in Russian and unzips the side of the bag and pulls out the bags core. Fey watches in dismay, as he lays the bag down next to her and fetches another roll of tape and a pair of scissors.

Fey tries to wriggle away like a caterpillar, but her grabs her ponytail again and pulls her into a seated position. He picks up the scissors and cuts off her ponytail, discarding it without a second thought. She whimpers, when he snatches up the tape and begins to wrap it around her head, thinking, "There is nothing I can do. My weakness stopped me from getting here in time to save that child and has delivered me to his clutches. I hope the guys, don't do anything stupid to help me, I don't deserve it." 

He flips her onto her side and forces her legs to bend at the knees. She does not resist, as he wraps tape tightly around her bent legs, forcing her heels to press into her thighs just below her buttocks. 

She begins to cry, feeling herself lifted and placed into the punch bag and begins to hyperventilate, when she hears the harsh rasp of the punch bags zip slowly closing and feels it's stiff leather close around her and press in on her from all sides. Her knees press against the bottom of the bag, when it is lifted and placed on a hook from the ceiling.



Across the street, Hel watches paralysed in horror, as her sister is mummified and stuffed into a leather punch bag. She wills her frozen limbs to move, reaching slowly for her phone. As the Russian delivers the first hammer blow to the punch bag, she dials her brothers in desperation.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
Caesar73
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Post by Caesar73 »

I did jjustvrrad the last three chapters in a rush to catch up - incredible stuff! Nikita to the rescue - I hope!
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slackywacky
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Post by slackywacky »

FINALLY!!!

I caught up. Although, now that I am all caught up, I am wondering what curve ball you are going to throw at us (again). The sheer quality of the story, but also the quantity, as you publish very regular, makes you one of the best writers on this board. I do question myself if doing 3 stories at the same time is worse than doing the one, like you do. Oh well, I started on them and I don't want to disappoint people, so I will stick to it.

Thank you for continuing this story.

Now I just have to stay up to date... :lol:
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
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wolfman
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Post by wolfman »

Caesar73 wrote: 3 years ago I did jjustvrrad the last three chapters in a rush to catch up - incredible stuff! Nikita to the rescue - I hope!
We shall see soon enough. :D
slackywacky wrote: 3 years ago FINALLY!!!

I caught up. Although, now that I am all caught up, I am wondering what curve ball you are going to throw at us (again). The sheer quality of the story, but also the quantity, as you publish very regular, makes you one of the best writers on this board. I do question myself if doing 3 stories at the same time is worse than doing the one, like you do. Oh well, I started on them and I don't want to disappoint people, so I will stick to it.

Thank you for continuing this story.

Now I just have to stay up to date... :lol:
Well done for getting through it and thank you for your very kind words.

I have at times thought I have made an error just having one on the go, especially when I feel bogged down. At those times I have thought of branching into other tales. To be fair I am struck by the quality of your tales given their varied nature. Kudos to you.

NotSeen wrote: 3 years ago Looks like one of them Niki moments is about to happen...
You could well be right ;)
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
wolfman
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Post by wolfman »

They arrive at the rear of the building and bring the dirtbikes inside next to the bike Hel and Fey brought. Nikita looks up and nods to herself, "Three floors up." She says leading Carl and Jim through the ground floor towards a discrete staircase.

She leads them up in silence, checking the walls and corners for cameras, as they ascend.

They enter the sparsely furnished third floor with caution, "Try not to spook Hel." Nikita warns, as they spread out. Most of the floor has been cleared, however a few partitions that once delineated office spaces, have been left, preventing a clear view of the whole floor.

Nikita approaches the small blocked off area, to see Hel cowering behind the temporary wall, looking away from her. "Good she's safe and sound."

She softly clucks her tongue twice, getting Jim and Carl's attention. She points to Jim and signs, "Tell her I am behind her and ask her to turn around. I don't want to make her jump."

Jim nods and relays the message into his mike. Nikita softens her stance and watches Hel, nervously turn around until she sees Nikita standing there. They lock eyes across the short distance between them, Nikita's filled with warmth and compassion and Hel's struck with a mixture of awe and relief.

Nikita crossed the space between them and crouches, to embrace her newfound sister. "Everything will be ok." She whispers, trying to keep her tone as light as possible.

"Please help her. She is all alone over there, I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen." Hel whispers, trying to stay strong.

"I will get her back. She won't be alone for much longer." Nikita assures softly, "Do you know roughly where she is?"

Hel opens her mouth, then closes it again, rendered speechless by the thought of what that man is doing to Fey. she raises her arm and points to the window, where she last saw her sister. Nikita hugs her close and softly whispers, "Don't worry, she will soon be back over here."

She looks up at Jim, as he approaches and nods down at Hel. He takes the hint and wraps his arms around his sister. "Niki has to get cracking now. She will be back soon."

"Wait, before you go, check my phone, she has been sending through details of everything over there." She pauses, pulling her phone and offering it to Nikita, "It is bad."

"Thanks." Nikita says with a smile. She reviews the data with raised eyebrows and a new found respect for Fey, "This is really excellent work. This is the kind of intel and briefing I would kill for before any normal operation."



Nikita releases Hel and rises to her feet signalling to Carl to follow her, as she heads to the stair well. She plucks the folding backpack from her shorts pocket and begins unfurling it. In silence they proceed to the roof, where they keep low and crouch against the retaining wall outlining the perimeter of the wall.

She closes her eyes and feels the lifepulses of those in the building opposite them, "About twenty guys and anything up to fifty kids. No idea where Fey is." She thinks, nodding to herself.

"Have you got the bag with Fey's washing?" Nikita asks, watching him rummage in his pockets, before he triumphantly pulls out a sealed back of clothing.

Confusion clouds Carl's face as he looks up from the bag to see Nikita naked from the waist up, stuffing clothes in a backpack. He looks away and covers his eyes, quietly saying "Whoa, steady on."

"Don't panic." Nikita says lightly, as she changes her skin tone to match the colour of the clouds above, underlit by the lights of the city. "When I give you the nod, open the bag and hold it out for me?"

"Sure." He says, looking away, while she peels of her shorts and underwear, before stuffing them into the bag.

"I am ready now." Nikita says, with the head of a leopard and naked save for a bandana tied loosely around her neck.

Carl holds out the bag thinking , "Well she is certainly not Dani."

She takes several deep lungfuls of Fey's scent and nods to herself, she looks at Carl seeing the confusion on his face, "Don't worry. I know this is a lot to take in, but I promise, we will get her back safely."

Carl nods, nervously, "Make sure you come back safe too, yeah?"

"Count on it." She looks down at the Russian SMG hanging across his chest and nods at it, "Can you use that?"

"I am not on Dani's level, but am ok." Carl confesses, sheepishly.

"I need you to, keep low and cover me." Nikita says in a quiet, firm tone. "If it is hot when I leave, I might need you to cut us a path out of there."

"First day of meeting her and she is relying on me. There is no way I will let her down." He thinks, giving a confident thumbs up and nod.

Nikita smiles and winks, "Here we go."



Nikita bounces twice on the balls of her feet, before taking off at a sprint towards the edge of the roof. Her augmented strength launches her across the street, like a bird of prey, perfectly camouflaged against the sky. Below her an oblivious guard, watches the street stoically.

Her arms and legs split onto two tentacles each in mid air, which cushion her impact against the wall and her suckers hold her in place. Her skin changes to the same shade and pattern as the bricks against her skin.

She inches her way along the outside of the top floor sniffing at each of the poorly sealed windows. "Getting closer, it looks like she hasn't been moved. This is a quicker way of finding her, than screaming into the place and tearing it apart."

A few minutes later her eyes dilate and she checks a window, "Gotcha." She thinks, detaching one tentacle from the wall and placing it on the glass, seizing it with the sucker. She takes another tentacle and extends a lions claw from the centre of one of its' suckers and uses it as a glass cutter to cut around the outside of the pane. With a little pressure, the glass pops inwards. Gently she places the glass against a wall and releases her sucker.

Nikita slips through the window, into the dimly lit corridor, darkening her skin tone to match the lighting of the area. She takes the bandana from around her neck and wipes the pain on glass, removing the smudged mark from her tentacle. 

The scent of Fey is strongest on her left, so she keep right and slowly advances down the corridor, checking the rooms, as she proceeds.

Her senses swim with the sensations around her, the sobs of the children in the cells below, the smells of tobacco and other less savoury substances being consumed onsite, blood and fear from nearby the cells and, lifepulses weak and strong all around her. She zeroes in on the source of the scent she tracks and braces herself for the worst.



Nikita peaks around the door of the gym to see a giant of a man pummeling a punch bag, with a terrible ferocity. "He is a big bugger." She senses the lifepulses of a child on the floor near to the door and another in the punch bag.

Her feet change into those of a lion and she slips inside the room silently. The giant doesn't hear her approach. With a soft cough, she reveals her presence, causing him to turn. He looks into the gloom of the room only vaguely seeing her outline. "Wait your turn darling. I will get to you soon enough." He says, in Russian turning back to the punch bag.

Nikita flicks out her left arm, splitting it into two tentacles, one of which wraps around him pinning his arms to his sides. Before he can cry out, the other tentacle, wraps around his face and head, silencing him. A spike in the lifepulse of the child on the floor wrestles her attention away from the man, "The child is dying, she wont last much longer." She flicks her attention to her sister, counting the marks on her lifepulse, "Every bone in her lower arms, wrists and hands broken. Half her ribs shattered, legs broken, fractured cheek, detached retinas. All that and she is still awake. She is a tough one."

The man in her grasp, moans softly. Drawing her ire, "You did this to them. And at this moment, you probably think I am the monster here. Normally, I would pulverise you, but just for you, I am going to try something new."

Nikita reaches out with her mind to the lifepulses of the child and her sister, sweeping their marks into the mans lifepulse. He convulses in agony feeling the injuries inflicted, as they manifest in his body. She releases his body and lets him drop like a rag doll to the floor, to wallow in a world of pain.

Gently, she lifts the punch bag off of the hook and lays it on the ground, thinking, "She is light as a feather." With trembling fingers, she opens the bag to gaze at her sister with dismay. Fey lays on her side, her arms crossed across her chest, with blood seeping through the tape wrapping her whole body tightly. Her legs are bent at the knee and wrapped tightly, pressing her heels into her legs just below her buttocks. "She is tiny, she can't be much more than five feet tall." She gently lifts her out of the bag and lays her tenderly on the floor, before trying to unwrap some of the mass of tape that encases her head.



She runs her fingers through her hair and gently lifts her sister, "Fey? Can you hear me? It's Niki."

The tape wrapped bundle in her arms, trembles and shakes with quiet sobs, wriggling slightly in her arms.

"You are safe. Nothing will happen to you while you are with me." Nikita begins, she takes a deep breath, "There is a lot of tape on you. Taking it off here will take a little while and make a lot of noise. We are set up nearby, I can get you there and free you safely. Is that alright?"

Fey thinks for a moment and then nods, almost impreceptibly, with a grunt. Nikita hugs her close to her chest and wraps a tentacle around them both to hold her close and she rises to her feet. "Won't be long, hon. I promise."

Nikita shoots a disdainful look at the man on the floor, watching him breath his last breathe. She curls her lip in disgust and turns on her heel. As she walk towards the door, she passes the child on the floor and pauses. She reaches down and brushes a tear from the sleeping childs cheek. "I hope she has a family waiting for her." After a moment of consideration, she licks her finger.

"Nice to meet you Pich." She nods satisfied, thinking to herself, "You will be back with your family soon."

With a quick check of the lifepulses in the area, she confirms that the coast is clear and stalks along the corridor, silently approaching the window she entered. Fey moans weakly in her arms. Nikita hugs her closer to her and whispers, "Be strong, we are nearly out."

Nikita changes her grip on her sister, with one tentacle from each arm holding her close and the other two free. She sprints at the window and leaps through, changing her skin to match the sky and pressing her tentacles into the wall behind her, propelling her forth.



Carl feels a thud against the wall and checks his weapon. He approaches the edge of the roof and shoulders his SMG and risks a peek over the edge. "Oh boy. She is really not Dani." He thinks, watching Nikita carry a duct tape wrapped bundle as she pulls herself up the wall towards him.

He lets his guns sling hold it at his side and stands back from the edge, allowing Nikita a clear path up. She keeps a low profile as the comes over the wall at the roofs periphery and, gives him a wink when she is over.

"Would you like me to take her down to Hel and Jim, while you get changed?" He signs with a look of admiration on his face and tears of relief in his eyes.

"Yes please. Easier to get her free over this side." She says, carefully passing Fey to him.

"See you down there." He mouths, before carrying his sister towards the stairs and giving Nikita some privacy.

"Oh Fey, it is so good to see you." He whispers, on the edge of tears carrying her down the stairs as quickly, as it is safe to.



Jim and Hel look up, eyes wide with relief. Jim rises to his feet first, helping Carl to lay Fey down gently on an old door."Hello you, we have been so worried about you."

Hel joins them and pulls a multitool, extending the scissors to begin the delicate work of freeing her mummified sister. "Amy I am so sorry." She whispers over and over, pausing only to wipe tears from her eyes.

A moment later the three of them work in silent harmony on different areas of tape, freeing their sister from the masses of tape that hold her, until only her head remains wrapped. Carl takes her hand in his, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb, "Nearly there, Fey."

Hel makes minute cuts in the tape around her face and head, trying not to cut her sister. With gentle fingers, she eases the tape off of Fey's face, revealing it slowly, as the mask of tape is removed. Fey looks up with sorrowful eyes, as the tape comes off. Gently she takes Hel's hand and grips the edge of the tape mask. Jim, Hel and Carl look on in horror, as she rips the tape off of her head without emotion.

She tosses the tape and a significant amount of her hair casually aside. Hel reaches down hugging her, "Oh babe. Why did you do that?" She asks breathlessly, "Are you alright?"

With red rimmed eyes Fey looks up at her and mumbles softly, "It's what I deserve." Hearing the pain in her sister's voice, Hel hugs Fey tightly and weeps softly.
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Post by slackywacky »

The main characters are going (and have gone already) through so much pain. Will they ever have a break? Only time will tell.
Nice addition again.
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Post by wolfman »

Nikita senses the anxiety of the others as she descends towards them. She folds the backpack up again and slips it back into the pocket of her shorts. She sees Jim, Carl and Hel, gathered with worried looks on their faces, shooting concerned glances at Fey.

She begins walking towards the partitioned area, where Fey currently sits, staring at the floor.

Hel jogs over to intercept her,  “Leave her be for a bit.” Hel asks softly. "She is in a bad place."
 
“I need to know what happened and make sure we are not compromised.” Nikita says, preparing to knock on the wall of Fey’s refuge..
 
Hel’s breath catches in her throat and she looks warily at Nikita, “Compromised? Do you think I set her up?” Hel asks, both indignant and hurt.
 
“Your eyes and your heart.” Nikita says, enigmatically.
 
“What do you mean?” Hel asks, nervously.
 
“The look of fear in your eyes, when we arrived and they still had her. That and the adrenaline-fuelled drumming of your heart, as you were waiting for news and the sinking of your heart when you freed her and realised that something was wrong.” Nikita softly explains, with a smile, “I have no doubts about you. Or anyone here for that matter.”
 
“Then what do you want to talk to her about?” Hel asks, seeing Nikita in a new light.
 
“She has been knocked down hard. I have had my fair share of that. I want to make sure she is ok.” Nikita explains, warmly.
 
“Do you want me to come in? Hel asks, with a smile.
 
With a subtle shake of her head, Nikita sighs, “Thank you for the offer, but I’ve got this. Besides, you have had a day of it too. Get some rest, it might be a long night.”
 
“I will be next door, if you need me.” Hel offers, warmly.
 
 
 
Nikita softly knocks on the partition and waits. “Her lifepulse is not moving.” She waits another moment and gently knocks again.
 
When no response comes, she quietly slips into the partitioned area. “Oh Fey.” She thinks, seeing her sisters sat on the floor.
 
Fey sits on the floor, her knees curled up to her chin, as she hugs her legs. Tufts of hair lay strewn around her, remnants of her attempts to repair the damage the tape did to her hair. Attempts that have left her short hair a tattered and ruined mess.
 
Nikita slowly crosses the room and sits on the bed. Fey jumps with a start, feeling Nikita’s hand on her shoulder.
 
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Nikita says, gently.
 
“Thank you.” Fey says, in a barely audible whisper, not looking up.
 
“For what?” Nikita asks, gently.
 
“After I messed up, you saved me.” Fey says, weakly.
 
“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Nikita asks, in a firm gentle tone.
 
Fey’s lip quivers and she closes her eyes, before speaking, “We saw the news and Hel and I decided to take a look. We got to the scene about an hour before sunset and began looking around. Hel got a flash and we thought we would take a look.”
 
Nikita puts her arm around her sister and gently hugs her. “Easy, Fey. In your own time, no need to rush.”
 
“We pulled the bike into the back of this place. It was almost like some kind of game.” Fey’s smile fades, “Until it wasn’t. We could see what was going on inside and we knew we were in deep. I told Hel to keep watch, while I scouted the place out, like I used to do sometimes for Dani. Then we were going to call in the authorities.”
 
Fey closes her eyes, as tears start to fall. “It was all going to plan, I was working my way through the building and noting who was where and where they were keeping the girls. But it was so hard to watch and not act. I hid in a side room and" She pauses, hating herself, "I had a panic attack. I have had them since I died, normally it happens when I am in a small space. But in there with the smell and sound of their moans, the walls came closing in."

Nikita sees the hurt in her eyes and feels the pain in her heart, radiating from her life pulse. "I wish I could heal her heart, not just her body." She thinks, squeezing Fey's shoulder.

"Then I saw him." She sits rocking gently, staring at a knot in the wood flooring. As if by studying it, would help the world make sense. She continues, seeing the scene in her mind, as clearly as when she was there, “He was a beast of a man, at least six and a half feet tall. Big shoulders, hands like shovels. I couldn’t see clearly what he dumped on the floor, but inside I knew it was someone’s little angel. With a family waiting for them coming home again and because I had a panic attack, I was too late.” Fey looks into Nikita’s eyes, searching again for meaning.
 
“I felt so angry in that moment. I didn’t think about it, I just went for him, I screamed and charged at him and he grabbed me round the throat.” She pauses, with trembling hands touching her throat, where the man had grabbed her.
 
Nikita squeezes Fey’s shoulder and whispers in her ear, “It’s ok, you’re safe now.”
 
“I fought him Nikita. I swear I tried, but he was too strong. There was nothing I could do to stop him taping me. I begged him to let me go, but he just wrapped me more. I tried to scream but he just laughed and wrapped my head up in tape.” Fey descends into wailing tears.
 
“That’s it, let it out. Don’t hold back.” Nikita says, softly as she hugs her sister.
 
“When he started to zip the punch bag closed around me and hung it up, I felt like a piece of meat. I held my breath waiting for the next blow to land and just prayed for it to end.” She covers her mouth, with a trembling hand and sobs. “I could feel the bag tightening around me, crushing me, I couldn’t breathe.”
 
Nikita cradles Fey’s head against her shoulder and gently rocks her back and forth, “You are safe now. No one is going to hurt you.” She kisses the top of Fey’s head, “Let it all out, cry, scream, swear as much as you need. Hold nothing back.”
 
 
 
“First time I meet you and I was wrapped like a Christmas present.” Fey says, in a bitter tone, as she extricates herself from Nikita’s embrace.
 
“It was the same when I met Sasha and Dani.” Nikita says fondly remembering, “I had to free them too.”
 
Fey shrugs away from Nikita and looks up at her in shock, “Really?” She asks, wiping her eyes.
 
Nikita nods softly, “Yeah, in the back of a Medteqniq van. I seem to recall that they weren’t overly happy about it.”
 
“But how?” Fey asks, “They are unbeatable.”
 
“They weren’t always. They have some awesome skills now, but back then, things were different. You are more like them than you think.” Nikita explains, with a smile, “Don’t forget you got a long way into that place and only got rumbled, because you tried to do the right thing.”
 
“Didn’t do any good though, did it?” Fey says, sadly.
 
Nikita says, nudging Fey, “The bundle that the guy you took on dropped, was a little girl called Pich. She was in a bad way when I found her, but I was able to heal her. She will be back with her family soon.” Nikita says, warmly, “You stopped him from finishing her off.”
 
Fey sits back stunned, unable to form the words she feels, as Nikita continues, “At this moment, regardless of anything else that happened today, there is a person alive, because of you.” She pauses for effect before pressing the point further, "You put yourself in harms way and saved that girl's life."
 
“Are you serious?” Fey asks, not daring to hope.
 
Nikita looks her in the eyes and nods, “She is a perfect little darling and will live a long and happy life. Thanks to you.”
 
“She is really alive?” Fey hope filled tears in her eyes, "You wouldn't lie, would you?" 
 
"You have my word." Nikita says, hugging Fey. "You stopped him from killing her. You are a hero."


 
“Let’s break down what happened.” Nikita says, with a thoughtful look in her eyes. “So you saw the guy drop Pich. What happened then?”
 
“I entered the room in his blind spot. He dropped Pich and then pulled back his foot for a kick.” Fey pauses composing herself, “I screamed at him and charged, then he grabbed me by the throat….”
 
“That will do.” Nikita says, cutting Fey off, “He didn’t know you were there. Then you made your presence felt.” Nikita raises her eyebrow, letting the moment hang in the air. “What would have happened if you hadn’t made yourself known?”
 
“Pich would have been killed.” Fey says, staring at the floor.
 
“No, she would have, if you hadn’t acted, what about if you had dealt with him, without revealing yourself?” Nikita says, raising an eyebrow.
 
“How? I am not exactly big enough to take someone like him with one blow.” Fey shrugs.
 
“Stay in their blind spot. Strike surgically and fade. When they lash out, be somewhere else.” Nikita says, “Your strength is in striking from concealment. Show nothing and take everything.”
 
“Show nothing and take everything.” Fey says, trying the words on for size. "I can do that. Dani only ever used me to scout, never to engage."
 
"Can you fight?" Nikita asks, curiously.

"A bit, but I am not on Sasha or your level." Fey confesses, with a sad shrug.

"If you can be invisible and lay a blade on a hostiles throat, before they can react, you will be ok." Nikita says, thinking. "Carl said something similar, almost like they have put Dani, Sasha and I on some kind of pedestal."
 
 

Nikita lets Fey sit quietly and begins to tidy the up the tufts of hair from the floor.
 
Fey catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror, “I look awful.” She remarks noting her puffy face and red eyes from crying and her ruined hair.
 
Nikita finds an old office chair and wheels it, one handed to Fey's side. She breathes deeply, focusing her mind on what she must do. She gently takes her by the hand and gestures for her to sit in the chair.
 
“What’s going on?” Fey asks, allowing herself to be led.
 
Nikita taps the chair and says, “Take a seat, we don't have long.”
 
Fey nervously sits in the chair and Nikita looks down at her, with a wink, “I need you to trust me.”
 
 
 
“That should do it.” Nikita says, brushing hair from Fey’s shoulders and neck with her bandana.
 
Fey takes her phone and uses its' camera to see herself. Gone was the formless tangle of hair and in its place was a revelation. Her hair was now cut short on the back and sides of her head, rising to short curved spikes on top, accentuating the curve of her neck and the almond shape of her face.
 
“What do you think?” Nikita asks, nervously.
 
“Oh my God. I have never looked this good.” She says turning this way and that trying to see her new look from every angle.
 
She throws her arms around Nikita’s neck and hugs her tightly. “I love it. Thank you so much.”
 
“No worries, you have had a rough day and deserve a little treat.” Nikita says, warmly. "Best I can do in an abandoned warehouse, with the a multi-tool."
 
“I mean it. Thanks for this.” Fey says, earnestly, “I was feeling pretty rubbish about everything.”
 
“No worries.” Nikita smiles gently, “What would Dani have done?”
 
Fey thinks for a moment, before smiling in sad recollection, “Pretty much what you did, but without the haircut.”
 
“You missing her?” Nikita asks, her voice tinged with her own loss.
 
“Yeah. Sometimes it feels like she is right here, close enough to reach out and touch her.” Fey sighs, and bites her lip, “We were hoping that if you came here, you would just bring her back somehow.”
 
“I expected her to be sat on the sofa, when I went to the house.” Nikita says sadly, “I wish she had told us about all of you sooner.”
 
“She did what she had to do to keep us safe. I will never blame her for that. Despite everything, it has been an amazing eighteen months.” Fey says, with a nostalgic smile. “Would have been better without all the secrets though?”
 
Nikita sits on the floor, wrestling with her thoughts, she hangs her head and her shoulders begin to slowly rock with laughter.
 
“What are you laughing about?” Fey asks before a moment of realisation, when she sees Nikita’s tears. Without hesitation, she puts her arms around her sister and asks, “What’s wrong?”
 
“If Dani had said about you all, you would probably have come with us to La Palma. Badger would have stopped the device just by touching it and Dani would still be here.” Nikita cries softly. “She would have known that and she kept you all away.”


 
Nikita and Fey sit side by side lost in their own thoughts, unaware that the dust on the floor spells out the words “Miss you, you unkillable maniac.”
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
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Post by slackywacky »

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do what Nikita can do?

Let's see what the writing on the wall (okay, floor ;) ) will bring.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
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Post by wolfman »

"What's the plan?" Carl asks, batting away a hornet, before it plunges its' stinger into his neck.

Nikita reaches into the hornet's lifepulse and heals it, before she speaks, "We have one main option." She says lighting a cigarette, "Pull back and notify the authorities. Keep watch until they arrive and then leave quick and quiet." She pauses exhaling slowly, reading the expressions of her siblings.

"Fey looks a little sad, Hel looks relieved, Carl looks worried and keeps glancing at Fey, as if she is about to break. I have no idea about Jim." She thinks, scrutinising them all, "I wonder how long it will take."

"We can't do that." Fey says, squeezing the bridge of her nose.

"Why not?" Carl asks, concerned.

"The well dressed guy, said they will be rich in four hours. That would be less than an hour from now." Fey confirms, rechecking her notes, "The locals wont get here in time."

Jim, Carl and Hel look at her with numb acceptance, knowing she is right, whilst Nikita thinks, "That was quick."

Nikita draws a deep lungful of tobacco smoke, before she begins, "That is our main option, but not the only one." She pauses, bracing herself, "I have a plan, but I need your support and this will only work if we are all in."

Fey looks Nikita in the eyes and speaks firmly, "We can't fail those kids, if we don't do something, they will be taken to God knows what kind of lives."

Nikita casts her gazes across her siblings, seeing that they are all with Fey on this, "Ok. Carl, I need you to steal a bus, something reliable and large enough to get the kids to the local law. Fey sneak in and lock all doors except the main entrance. Hel, Jim cover the main entrance, after I go in, drop anyone who leaves. I will sweep the building and eliminate all hostiles."

"So far sounds like a Dani plan. But there is a lot of ground to cover and when the shooting starts, it will be a blood bath." Hel says, nervously.

"They wont be shooting." Nikita points out, before continuing, "When I give the signal, can you bring the bus in Carl and watch the street? Then Fey and I will escort the prisoners out."'

"What will Hel and I be doing?" Jim asks, squinting suspiciously.

"Fey's notes are frankly excellent. I need you and Hel to sweep the building using them to find key people, then I want any intel you can get, emails, texts, calls, the works. But you will need to be fast." Nikita explains, firmly.

"I can use a device by touch, but pin numbers might take time." He points out.

"Hel can you get a pin number by touching a phone?" Nikita asks, switching her gaze.

Hel rises her eyebrows and nods, "I should be able to."

"Excellent. Could you also record any impressions you get, places, faces, anything that might help?" She asks, thoughtfully.

"I can do that." Hel says, unsure.

"'No one has to do this. But I can't do this alone. I know many of you may not have been asked to go into the field before and may not be comfortable doing so. There is no shame in saying you are not ready." Nikita says, gently.

One by one they nod and say "I am in." Until the only Carl remains. "When Fey, Hel and Jim are in the building, what assurances will you be able to give that they will be safe?"

Nikita gives a gentle smile, touched by his concern for everyone, "I will only give the signal to enter, once all hostiles are down, permanently."

"Will your life sense be able to confirm when they are down?" Carl asks, relaxing slightly.

"Everything alive has a lifepulse in one form or another, I can sense these and can tell when someone is dead, injured, or emotionally charged." Nikita says, breathing smoke out of the corner of her mouth, "From yours, I can tell that you broke your left leg when you were younger and it healed badly, until the PCS brought you back."

Carl smiles gently and nods, "I am in."

Nikita stubs out her smoke and nods, "Ok we are all in. Carl, Fey, I need you to haul ass, I am going in, in ten minutes."

"What is our timeline?" Hel asks, checking her siblings are alright.

"Doors locked and bus acquired within the next fifteen minutes. I will then complete a sweep and clear within five minutes. At that point, Fey and I will bring out the prisoners and you and Jim will gather intel for next step. We evac after ten minutes." Nikita explains, warmly.



As they scatter and get started on their assigned tasks, Nikita nudges Fey. "Are you ok?"

Fey nods, nervously, reluctant to make eye contact.

"Hey, it's ok." Nikita says,  with a guilty look on her face, "I know how badly he hurt you. I was wrong to put this on you. If you want to step back from this, I understand."

"I am still in." Fey says, turning to Nikita, "I might not be able to do much, but I can do this."

"As long as you're sure." Nikita nods, "Don't take any risks, remember, as long as they don't know you are there, you are not a target."

"Thanks Niki. Can I call you Niki? I just want to prove that I can do this. Dani never asked us to do much. I went in there tonight to honour what Dani did for us. She wouldn't have stood by and she would have done something. I feel like I messed up and I want to make it right."

"The truth is, it's about rolling with the wrinkles and changing what you view as a success. Same with any operation." Nikita says, gently, "Please call me Niki."

"Thanks Niki. Thank you for believing in me." Fey admits, with a beaming smile.

"Do you know why I believe in you?" Niki asks, not waiting for an answer, "Because, when it came down to it, you saw something you couldn't abide and you acted."

Fey hugs Niki tightly, "Between her hunting trips, she was always here for us. I can see why she asked you to come."

"Why do you think?" Niki asks, wondering.

"It is in your nature to heal. The PCS repaired our bodies, but we are all so broken." Fey says, softly, "'She did what we could, be we are still damaged. She knew you could heal us."

"When all this is done, if you want a normal life, my people can get you money, false identities and new lives, you can do anything you want." Niki says warmly.

"After eighteen months of Dani telling us how awesome you , Sasha, Dad, Kate and Lou are, I for one, want to get to know you all for real."' Fey confesses.

"That would be nice. But don't feel you have to impress anyone. You are awesome, just the way you are." Niki says with a smile.

"Thank you, for everything." Fey says, with grin, "I had better get over there and lock up."



"Niki, I have no idea how, but Carl has a bus and is circling the area now." Jim says, softly. 

"That is great news. Can you get him to hang back? I am going in as soon as Fey is clear." Niki says, nodding, as she thinks, "I really hope i am doing the right thing."'

Jim gives the thumbs up and relays the message. When he is done, Niki calls him and Hel close, "When I am done, I will wave from the doorway to confirm all is clear. It will be rough over there and if you can't deal with it, I understand."

They exchange a glance and Hel brushes the sleeve of Jim's shirt, before saying, "We are in, we wont let you down."

"We will be tight on time. Do what you can. Anything you can get would be great." Niki says, warmly. "There is a chance we might have company, while we are inside. First priority is the hostages safety, then our own. Ok?"

They nod nervously, Jim checks his submachine gun and Hel checks her hold-out pistol before moving to slip it into her ankle holster.

"Let me see that." Niki asks curiously. Turning the matt black weapon over in her hands when Hel gives it to her. "Interesting. Built in suppressor, option for closed bolt action, that will cut noise quite a lot, but with a three round burst option." She holds it in a shooting stance and quietly nods, "Comfortable to hold, excellent balance. Never seen anything like this."

She hands it back to Hel with a nod, "Nice."

"Thanks, Carl made it." Hel says, with a smile. "With sub sonic ammunition, it is nearly silent."'

"Good to know. I might have a few things he could work on for me." Niki says, sensing Fey's approach.

"The bloke is a genius and he loves a challenge." Jim says, tapping his webbing, "Two terabyte, octacore processing, heads up display and a ton of utilities. First version took him two hours and weighed the same as a small car."

"All set." Fey says, stepping out from behind Niki, to the shock of Jim and Hel.

Niki onfolds the backpack from her shorts pocket and sets it down, as she begins to strip. Her siblings shield their eyes, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Do you want some body armour or something?" Jim asks, awkwardly.

"No thanks, I promised Dani, I wouldn't hold back. For what I have in mind, body armour is holding back." Niki confirms stuffing her clothes into the bag and passing it to Fey, "Can you please bring this with you?"

Fey nods in awe of the madness, of her majestic sister and accepts the bag.

Niki turns on her heel and begins to walk towards the street, calling over her shoulder, "See you soon." She walks slowly, humming 'Flight of the Bumblebee.'

"What is your plan? Send their blood rushing to their penises and make them pass out" Hel asks, trying not to laugh.

Nikita says nothing, she simply takes another step and explodes.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
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Post by slackywacky »

> Nikita says nothing, she simply takes another step and explodes.

Is there anything Nikki can't do? Great chapter.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
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Post by wolfman »

The Giant Asian Hornet or "Murder Hornet" is typically five and a half centimetres long, weighs roughly an ounce and is armed with a seven millimeter stinger that can penetrate all but the thickest clothing. Its venom cause intense and excruciating agony and in some documented cases a single sting can kill. This is one of the most fearsome predators of the insect world.

Nikita, due to her dense musculature and skeleton, weighs in at roughly three hundred pounds, despite looking like a normal if well toned young woman. When she changed into an octopus, she retained her mass and took on massive propotions.

However, when she takes on the form of the hornet, she takes a different route, converting her entire body mass, into a swarm of almost six thousand Giant Asian Hornets.

Hel, Jim and Fey cower from the noise and the menace of the swarm, erupting from the spot their sister occupied a moment ago. They watch the undulating, roiling mass coil in on itself for a moment, before blasting out of the warehouse like a snake.



Nikita's eyes shine with wonder, all of them, "This is unreal." She thinks, getting her bearings, "I feel every hornet as a part of me. I am not one individual hornet. I am all of them." She takes a moment, testing her control of the swarm. 

She sweeps forward streaking across the street and engulfing the two men on the door. They die screaming within seconds from a dozen stings each. Like a biblical plague, Nikita flows through the building like a river of wings and death, washing aside any resistance, effortlessly.

The children in the lower cells scream, watching the hornets swirl angrily around the room descending on the men that were once their captors. One of the men draws a knife, to cut himself and release the toxin from a score of stings, but the convulsions that seize him force the knife from his hands. One of the older children, takes the knife and uses is to cut the rope, binding her wrists in front of her, before helping to free the others in the cell.

A group of four men dive into an office to escape the hornets wrath. Two hornets use their stingers to engage the tumblers in the doors lock and trap them in the room, while others squeeze through the gap under the door, to the horror of the trapped men.  The women chained to beds in the rooms next door, pray for release, listening to their screams. 

Their eyes widen with terror, when the hornets leave the men and enter their rooms, swirling overhead like a spectre of death, forming a young womans face for a moment, before moving on.

Pich opens her eyes fearfully, woken by screams from the rooms around her. Warily, she gets to her feet, not looking at the man lying on the floor. She scurries to the open door to the room and closes it, before backing up and cowering against the far wall of the room.

One by one, the bodies of fleeing men fall, clogging the main stairway, as they die before hitting the ground. Those who either can't or don't run, fall in screaming agony from the myriad powerful stings they endure, begging for death to claim them. Whereas, across the building, men hide in dark corners, praying death does not find them.

The largest concentration of hornets is on the ground floor. A mass forms at is heart and slowly takes form as more hornets are absorbed and it coalesces slowly. Nikita looks out from her own eyes in the heart of the swarm, feeling more like herself, as more hornets, are absorbed back into her body.

"I had no idea that it would be like this." Nikita thinks, splitting off groups of free hornets to polish off the last resistance, "In the right circumstances, I could search a building in no time, get through any gaps big enough for a hornet."

Nikita rests a hand against the wall, steadying herself. "It is disorienting, especially when I am both me and them."' She takes a deep breath and relaxes, thinking, "I need to stop looking at myself and swarm as separaste entities. We are one, united."



Across the street, Fey, Hel and Jim listen with a mixture of horror and awe for the longest two hundred and seven seconds of their lifes. "Did you know it would be like this?" Fey asks, quietly, "Did Dani give any clue?"

"She said she was a force of nature, but nothing like this." Jim says, with a weary shrug.

"I hugged her and took a reading from her clothing." Hel says, with a smile, "I felt the core of her. Everything she does, comes from love. She is an open book and doesn't do deception. I must admit, I really like her"

"Shesaved me and said the right thing, just when I needed it." Fey adds, with a smile.

"When Hel called to say you were in trouble, she was on it. Focused, calm and in control. In that moment, I knew it would all be right." Jim confesses, with a smile, "I wont lie, she scares me, but you know what, I trust her."

"Did she do your hair?" Hel asks, just noticing Fey's trim.

Fey nods, with a smile, "Yeah. I absolutely love it."

Jim nods, "I wont lie, you look great. I think I will ask her for a trim, when we get home."

"No you wont, you will let her rest first." Hel says, with a wink, "She has been travelling all day and I have a feeling we could be in for a long night."

"This isn't going to end here, is it?" Fey asks, biting her lip.

"I have a feeling that this is just beginning." Jim says, with unaccustomed seriousness.



The last man, sits curled up on the floor of a toilet, praying for salvation and forgiveness. This night he has gone from being a profesional criminal able to take on any job, to a broken man who has seen his colleagues slaughtered and hornets chase him to this refuge. He weeps softly, wishing this nightmare would end. Hearing a strange splashing noise, he peers into the toilet to see a dozen hornets with gills and tentacles, changing colour to match the white of the bowl, climbing out of the water. 

His legs refuse to follow his commands, as he watches the hornets crawl closer, their wings too water-logged to carry them aloft. He closes his eyes and prays, in Russian, "Dear Lord, I have lived a wicked life, devoted to selfish ends. If I survive this night, I will be a better man. Please spare me from this unholy horror. Amen."

He feels the first hornets climb onto his legs and wishes he was anywhere but here. The room fills with his stench from his voided bowels and he knows in that moment, that God is with him. With shaking hands, he draws his pistol and presses it to his temple. "May God have mercy on my soul." he prays, pulling the trigger.



"Niki said there wouldn't be any shots." Hel says at the sound of the gun shot.

"What do we do?" Fey asks, warily looking at the entrance to the office.

"We wait. A gunshot wouldn't stop her. She can heal any prisoner that has been hurt. I say we assume this is going to plan unless we hear otherwise." Hel says, focusing.

"Badger, you listening?" Carl buzzes in their earpieces.

"Affirmative Digger, what you got?" Jim responds.

"Hostiles inbound, Articulated lorry with a two technical escort. ETA three minutes" Carl confirms, watching the vehicles head into the trading estate towards, the office building.

The three of them exchange a glance and Fey is the first to speak, "We need to warn Niki."

"Ok." Jim says, thinking, "Carl keep your distance, we might need you to come in for a hot pick up. Fey, can you get across the street unseen and give Niki the heads up? Hel and I cover will the street."

Helen looks up fearfully and nods, then looks around, searching the room, "Where's Fey?"



Fey enters the office building silently. She crouches inside the door, with her mouth slightly open, listening for signs of movement. The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, makes her dive for cover behind a nearby table.

"Fey? What's going on?" Nikita asks, skidding to a halt in the office buildings foyer.

The blonde pops her head out from behind the table, relieved, "Niki, we got a truck and two technicals incoming. Will be here any minute."

"I was worried that this might happen." Nikita says, nodding to herself, "I will keep watch here. Can you grab a couple of guns and some ammo? Jim and Hel only have an SMG and a pistol between them"

Fey nods, galvanised into action and taking off at a sprint. 

Nikita watches her as she heads into the building and nods again, "She has had a knock today, but she will be ok."

She sends a dozen free hornets down the street, feeling the life pulses of the men approaching, "Five guys per technical and three in the truck, based on their formation." She watches the pulses approaching, with trepidation, thinking, "I wish that this was their first pickup." 



The driver of the lead technical surveys the scene as the convoy pulls up in front of the building. A light mist rises from the drains along the street and a light breeze stirs litter from an alley way, but otherwise all is silent.

Each technical has a man wielding a mounted machine gun with spade grips. The technicals park across the street, in front and behind the truck. Three men cautiously exit each technical and spread out taking positions, to cover the street.

Two smartly dressed men exit the cab of the truck, with grey suits and open collared white shirts with a large metal briefcase, leaving the driver behind the wheel and the passenger door open. They smile at each other and nod, before walking slowly towards the office buildings entrance.

"Where are the men on the door?" One of the smartly dressed men asks, in Thai.

"This doesn't feel right, it's too quiet." The other man says before he pulls his phone and dials a number. They both stand their ground, as he waits for the call to be answered.

He shakes his head and throws the phone across the street, barking, "Move out."



At the sound of the shout, a still-naked Nikita leaps from the roof of the office block, at peace with the quickly hatched plan. Hel raises the Kalashnikov and puts a tight burst into the first smartly dressed mans back, from the first floor of the warehouse, a split second before Jim does the same to the other smartly dressed man. As Hel and Jim, run in a low combat crouch towards the stairs, Fey silently skirts around the back of the rear technical and uses Hel's pistol to quietly dispatch the gunner and driver with a three round burst each, barely breaking her stride.

Nikita lands on the roof of the lead technical, with enough force to crush the skull of the driver. As her legs cushion the impact of the landing, her right arm-tentacles whip around the gunner and fling him with lethal force into a wall thirty feet away. Fey hugs the trailer of the truck silently stalking towards the cab, she pauses briefly, listening to the whimpers of those inside. She places a hand on the side of the trailer and silently pledges, "You are going to be ok."

The men dug in, crouch motionless, as the sound of gunfire dies down. None of the men notice the heavily suppressed shot of the closed bolt pistol from Fey, that ends the life of the truck driver. Nikita pauses for a split second and the criminal enforcers open fire at her, as she turns, their rounds biting deep into her flesh, stitching a line of bullet holes from her hip to her collar bone with a final round entering her cheek, sending her sprawling. 

Fey watches Nikita fall and feels a wave of calm wash over her, before she slips along the blind side of the truck, thinking, "Give them nothing and take everything."

Hel peeks over the sill of the third floor window, seeing Nikita laying there still and takes a breath before peeking again, with her weapon raised to double tap a man on the north side of the street, then keeping low and moving towards the stairs, she fades away.

The hostiles pepper the third floor with automatic weapons fire, hoping to hit someone who wasn't there. As they pause to reload, Jim pops up to double tap one of the men on the north side of the street, then retreats from the second floor window. All the men on the street shift their aim to the second floor, oblivious, while Fey takes aim at the last man from the north side of the street and ends his life with two rounds to the head.

Hel breaks cover on the first floor, firing a burst over the heads of the men on the street, keeping their heads down. Three floors above, Jim watches silently. His weapon fires with a thought, crowning the man, unfortunate enough to break cover to return fire on Hel. Fey takes advantage of the distraction to scoop a handgun from one of the fallen enforcers and take aim at the backs of the last two men.

The last men standing, do not stand for long, as their lives are ended by simultaneous shots between their shoulder blades. Fey quickly checks the men on the street and confirms that none are alive and then with a rising wave of nausea within her, she slowly walks to the far side of the technical to her right and the motionless body of her sister. In her mind she repeats, "Please be ok, please be ok." Like a mantra.

Jim surveys the scene below with a sense of relief. A relief that is short lived, snatched away by the sight of Nikita's lifeless body in a pool of her own blood. Hel sees the body too, but her blood is chilled by a single thought, "We did it, but at what cost?"



Jim places a hand on Fey's shoulder, causing her to look up fearfully. He forces his body to relax and winks at her, "Dani said about this. She will come back in a bit."

"When?" Fey asks, with a tearful tone.

"Soon, so we had better be ready." Jim says, trying his best to sound confident, while thinking, "I really hope she does come back."

"What do you mean?" Fey asks, nervously.

"Niki's plan still stands. Get in there and get the prisoners out." Jim says, gently smiling down at her, before tapping his earpiece, "Digger, can you bring the bus in and cover the street?"

"Affirmative, geezer, er Badger. I am en route and attending." Carl says, swinging the bus around a corner and heading towards the abandoned offices.

"Hel, once Carl arrives, you and I need to get in there and start gathering intel." Jim says, gaining a little confidence.

"There are some in the truck already, should we tranfer them to the bus?" Fey asks, still staring at Nikita, wishing she would just sit up.

Jim looks over at the truck, wondering how many are in there. "Get numbers, see if we have the room. If we can't get them in the bus, we take the truck. No one gets left behind, everyone goes home."
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
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