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

[slackywacky]

I agree [mention]GreyLord[/mention]. I am always impressed by the speed [mention]wolfman[/mention] produces chapters and the depth of the story. And yes, I am wondering what will come after Revelation... at least I hope some inspiration

[Caesar73]

I agree @GreyLord. I am always impressed by the speed @wolfman produces chapters and the depth of the story. And yes, I am wondering what will come after Revelation... at least I hope some inspiration

Agreed [mention]GreyLord[/mention] and [mention]slackywacky[/mention] ! Quantity and quality are astonishing

That section "Trans-Human- [...]"? Reminds me a bit of Men and Black - oder SHIELDS - I have not decided yet

[wolfman]

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

Thank you for your kind words and support. Fear not, I have plenty of material to keep me going with this tale.

T.H.I.S. Is just one of the threat rising in this world, there are countless others that have not mad themselves known yet.

I endeavour to write a tale worthy of support and by your comments, I believe I have succeeded and hope that I can continue to do so.

[wolfman]

Jim lays prone at the crest of a hill, concealed by the foliage around him. He flinches feeling a hand on his shoulder, "Fancy meeting you here." Nikita whispers, with a wink.Her skin is camoflaged jet black against the night.

With all exposed skin painted black against the night, Hel and Fey crawl up on their stomachs, taking position either side of Jim. Fey puts her arm around Jim and whispers, "We were so worried about you."

"Thank you darlin'. I was worried about you guys too." Jim says, hugging her back. Nikita watches concerned as the smile fades from his face and he stares into the middle distance.

"Company is coming." He says, just as the soft whump of heavy helicopter blades is heard in the distance.

"How bad is it?" Nikita asks, warily.

Jim's eyes glow a soft blue in the night as he analyses the incoming forces, "Four Black Hawk helicopters, high end sensor suites, eighteen soldiers, four medics, an officer and four dog handlers, with dogs."

"Talk to me." Dani says, says lighting a cigarette. She slumps back onto the sofa, feeling bodily tired.



Dani raises her eyebrows seeing her tablet flashes up with a split feed showing the interiors of the helicopter cabins, "How are we getting this?"

"I pinged their radios and accessed their comms and sensor systems. They have thermal imaging but cannot see us." Jim says, thoughtfully.

"That's a new trick." Dani says, with an appreciative nod.

Nikita watches the feed on her phone too with Fey looking over her shoulder, "What are they wearing? It looks like a NAKI suit, but heavier."

"From what I can tell, it is based on a Neoprene and Kevlar Interweave suit, but there are armoured plates added. With the full face helmets, and integrated gloves, they are encased fully." Dani observes, blowing smoke out of the corner of her mouth. "Looking at the way they are moving, this is not their first time wearing them. If I had to guess, I would say that they are well trained, both individually and as a team."

"No idea on the origin of the suits. Weapons appear to be a mix of shotguns and submachine guns, cameras in the cabin too low resolution to get a serial number on any of them." Jim says, in a distant tone, "I can't access any of the secure systems, they are running a dynamic SySec system, that I have never encountered before."

"Where is the officer?" Nikita asks, staring at the screen.

"Sat under one of the cameras I think. They are all fixed position and don't move" Jim says, frowning. "Damn it, I cannot get into any other systems."

"How is that possible?" Hel asks concerned, watching the four Black Hawk helicopters, with bristling canard wings, sweep low over the jungle.

"All the systems are isolated on board. It is not uncommon in military grade aircraft." Jim explains, trying to find away in.



The helicopters hover over the drop site and the side doors, slide open. Soldiers rappel down and the dog handlers lower their partners before joining them. The practiced efficiency of the troopers is impressive to behold as they, smoothly but quickly descend and take up positions in a circle under the aircraft. 

Nikita and her siblings watch in silence, as the officer takes to his feet in one of the helicopters cabins and steps into view. "Fuck me. He is massive." Fey whispers, watching the six and a half foot plus man loom into view. The officer wields a Barrett Light 50, sniper rifle, with a sawn off barrel, as if it is a regular carbine. The massive weapon would appear comical in anyone elses hands, but this bear of a man wields it deftly in his massive hands, with the ease of a submachine gun.

The Mammoth officer, turns to the camera and waves, before he steps out of the cabin and freefalls fifty feet to the ground landing on his feet and walking with purpose towards the dog handlers.

"Did you see that?" Fey asks, fearfully, "He waved at us."

"They know we are watching. Get the fuck out of there." Dani says firmly, having seen enough. "They are on to you."

"W-we can hide from the sensors." Jim says, nervously.

"They have dogs, they can track your scent." Dani says, scrambling to find a map.

They watch as the soldiers fan out, twelve of them sweeping the site in teams of three, with two soldiers and the medics setting up a triage tent. The officer follows the dog team and the final two triads of operatives, as they sprint about the site. 

They pause taking photos of the ground, recording the tyre tracks of Special Agent Black's vehicle, before moving towards the jungle, following the path Jim took. The Alsatians charge ahead of their handlers into the jungle, barking savagely, with saliva dripping from their razor sharp fangs.

"They are not using the radios, I don't know how they are communicating." Jim says, watching in horror. 

"They don't need to." Dani says, watching them closely, "They are very well trained and have practiced everything. They will not break radio silence, unless they have to. They appear to be on to you." 

"We need to move, those dogs will find us pretty sharpish." Nikita says, biting her lip, "Back to the bikes."

Jim, Hel and Fey nod their agreement and crawl back from the crest of the hill and get to their feet. "When you get to the bikes, head north, there is a pepper farm there, it might help throw the dogs off of the scent."

The sound of barking fades into the distance, as they race through the jungle scrambling to get away from their erstwhile pursuers. 



Dani stubs out her cigarette, listening to the panicked breathing of her siblings, as they evade their pursuers. "This is my fault. They came for me and because they were exposed, Jim was taken." She thinks, "If anything happens to them, I will never forgive myself."

She begins rummaging in the fridge for steak and is soon rewarded in her search, grabbing some eggs too.

"This isn't on you Dani." Carl says, watching her from the doorway.

"You came to get me, because I was too weak to get myself out of there. This is on me." She states, turning on the flat top grill.

"What are you doing?" Carl asks, suspecting the truth.

"I am going to fill up with protein, dose up on PCS to recover quicker, then I am going in." Dani says, firmly.

Carl walks slowly to her side and turns the grill off.. "No Dani." He says exhaling slowly, "They don't need your physical power in a little while, they need your insight now. What you are proposing, could take you out of commission for hours, I can't let you do this. You are needed now."

Dani reaches for the switch, "You can't stop me."

Carl steps in her way, "I have to stop you." He says, placing a gentle hand on her arm, "For their sake."



Fey sits behind Nikita on the bike, hanging on as they tear through the jungle. She glances across at Hel, seeing her shoulder length auburn hair flowing in the wind behind her. She risks a glance behind her and calls out, "Hostiles inbound." Catching a glimpse of the approaching helicopters, through the jungle's canopy.

"I am jamming their instruments, but they have a visual on us." Jim says, bitterly, "I am sorry I dragged you into this."

"Save it, Minh. We aren't done yet." Nikita says trying to smile, as they charge through a cloud of flies.

"Sitrep." Dani says, from her spot on the sofa. 

"We are on the move, hostile aircraft in pursuit. About to split up once we enter pepper fields." Nikita confirms.

"Negative, stick together and keep under cover. The pepper fields are open and good for losing dogs, but you will be sitting ducks." Dani advises, "If you split up, they will corale one or more of you and we will have a rescue on our hands. At least together, you have a chance to evade them or defeat them if confronted."

Nikita feels a secret sense of relief that they don't have to split up. Dani checks the map and closes her eyes, visualising the options. "Head south east, using the jungle canopy for cover. You can straddle the border, get the attention of the Vietnamese air force."

"The jungle is too thick that way, we would have to skirt the river." Hel says, thoughtfully.

"They are too fast, they will be on top of us way before then." Nikita says, as her bike leaps over a fallen branch.

"My bike is low on fuel. I wont be able to get more than a few miles, before it gives up." Jim says, somberly, "You guys go, I will lead them away."

"No Minh, stick together I can get you out of there." Dani pleads, shaking her head.

"I love you all." Jim says after a takes a deep breath. "No!" Hel screams, with a heartbreaking wail, as her bike turns to follow.

"I'm in if you are." Fey shouts in Nikita's ear. Nikita shakes her head and swerves into the field at the lower left point of the triangle of bikes streaking across the fields..

Jim shakes his head and keys his headset, "Seriously, get out of here." He pleads, over comms.

"No way, we are a team." Nikita says, narrowly avoiding a rock, "What is your plan?" 

"I didn't get much further than ride away from you and hope they chase me." Jim admits, sheepishly.



Hel sees the helicopters bearing down on them, "Well, they are chasing all of us now." She announces as the air is split by a brace of explosions either side of the group.

Nikita turns her face away from the dirt flying at her face and guns the engine, "Weave." She shouts.

They begin to sweep left and right, weaving in and out of each others paths, as the pursuing helicopters machine guns roar into life.

Dirt and stones fly up either side of the group, as they swerve between the lances of machine gun fire. "Shit they are narrowing their fire, trying to push us closer." Nikita calls out, a split second too late.

"Brake hard, make them overshoot you. Then get back to the trees." Dani pleads.

They skid to a sharp, dust shrouded halt, coming to rest facing the jungle treeline,  just as the helicopters, pull up and begin to pivot on the spot, like the worlds deadliest dragonflies.

"Half a mile, this will be tight." Nikita calls out.

"Come on, don't give up now." Dani shouts on the verge of tears, over comms.

The bikes have never been ridden so hard as they swerve gunfire, pull up sharp to avoid explosion craters and accelerate hard of the the rough ground. But the helicopters, are too fast.

Nikita's heart sinks, as she feels the wash of several hellfire missiles streaking overhead in a low downward arc. Her eyes are seared by the flash, a moment before the pressure wave and shrapnel of the detonating missiles, slam her to the ground



Nikita rolls languidly onto her back, head pounding from a cacophony of thunderous hammer blows inside her skull. Only she when she dares to open her eyes, does she realise that the blows are not inside her skull, but from the rotor blades of the four helicopters overhead. 

She turns her head to the side vision blurry, seeing the man shaped, collection of cuts and bruises, slowly sitting up with blood gushing from his leg and head. Next to him lays, a mass of red hair atop a bloodied body. She casts her gaze around until her eyes fall on to the diminuitive blonde topped mass just behind her, trying and failing to stand.

"At least we are all alive."  She thinks taking stock of her condition, "Concussion, cracked ribs, broken left femur, too many cuts to count."

A thud from her left, draws her gaze, as the Mammoth lands in their midst. He surveys each of them in turn, keeping his massive rifle trained on them.

[GreyLord]

Have no fear. You are writing a tale worthy of support. This was an exciting chapter.

[Caesar73]

Incredibly dramatic!

[wolfman]

"Ramirez, Coop, ready for incoming wounded. We have four suspects, various states of injury." The Mammoth radios, surveying the bloodied group at his feet. He feels somwhat relieved that their hands are cuffed  securely, but somehow, he still does not feel safe.               

The Mammoth takes a slow breath, "I have been working the Golden Triangle since the Section began last year and I have never encountered anything like the threat this lot pose. If the video of the rampage is to be believed, even one of them could wipe out my team at a stroke. Then there is the war that has been declared across the country." He pauses staring at them, "What the hell are you?"

Slowly panning his gaze across them, he takes in the group laying at his feet, reporting his observations back to the circling helicopters "They have jet black skin, too dark and even for paint. They look like kids physically, but the have the faces of men." He leans in close, squinting, "Actually, the same man."
 
He notices one of them staring at him and turns to face him. "So, are you Minh?" He asks, is a slight Canadian accent.

The black skinned man, with long dark hair, smiles inscrutably and nods. "Yes, we are."

"Well you have been busy, I will give you that." The Mammoth says, "Are you going to give me any trouble?" He asks, as much to himself, as to the man before him.

Minh shakes his head, wiping blood away from his right eye, with the pad of his hand, "Ask me again when, the world stops spinning."

"How the hell did you get the handcuffs off?" The Mammoth shakes his head a smiles to himself, "How would you like a job?"

"Thank you for the offer, but we have plenty to keep us occupied." The jet black skinned man, says in an Australian accent. His long black hair flowing wildly in the down-draught from the hovering helicopters. 

"Let me restate the offer." The Mammoth says, hating this part of the job "You work for us, or, you die in a ditch."

Long haired Minh looks up at him thoughtfully, "What type of ditch?"

"Excuse me?" The Mammoth asks, with a sense of amusement.

"What type of ditch would you kill me in? Would you dig it? Would your men dig it? Would you use somewhere pre-existing? How deep would it be? These things matter." The blonde haired, black skinned, Minh asks, casually, in a South African accent.

Within his helmet, the Mammoth grins, "Actually, for you, I would dig it myself, out of respect for what you tried to do." He says, snorting a laugh, in spite of himself.

The red haired Minh smiles gently, "And what, did we try to do?", he asks in a soft Japanese accent.

"Break the cartels. Stop the drug trade from this country." The Mammoth says with a triumphant gesture, "You did well but they will rise again, it may take years or even decade, but they will be back." The Mammoth, rests his rifle on his shoulder, "Look ahhh. Don't get me wrong, one human being to another, I actually respect what you did, but, ultimately, it wont solve anything. The void you created, will be filled again."

"Then let us continue." The bald Minh says in a soft Urkutsk accent, with a shrug, "Finish what we started."

For a moment, the Mammoth pauses, considering it, "They did more in a night than the local authorities have in years. A part of me would love to just get on the helicopter, wipe the records and walk away."

"If it were up to me, you would be on your way to hunt every people smuggler and drug peddler in South East Asia." The Mammoth says, with a hint of warmth to his voice, "However, you have displayed extra human abilities and the rules say, we have to either recruit you, contain you, or for want of a better word, neutralise you."

"Well, that is quite the conundrum. You have your rules and we have ours and as a result, we are at an impasse." The Minh with the long dark hair says, trying to get up.

The Mammoth extends a hand helping Minh to his feet, "What are your rules?"

"Stay strong like the tiger, eternal as the sun, patient as the mountain, passionate as the flame and free as the wind." The blonde Minh says, helping the red haired Minh to his feet, both of them conspicuously free from their handcuffs.

Bald Minh rises to his feet and shrugs, "So you see, we cannot follow any of your rules."



With a pang of regret, the Mammoth sighs and then places a hand on long haired Minh's shoulder, "You are surrounded by four helicopter gunships loaded with heavily armed men. They will not let you leave this place, should you choose to resist."

"That begs the question, why are your men in the helicopters and not on the ground with us here?" The long haired Minh asks.

"I have seen what you are capable of. I don't want to expose my people to any more harm that is nessecary. Besides we are just having a conversation." The Mammoth says stepping back and keeping his hands open and away from his body.

"The weapons on your aircraft would kill you too, if they fired on us." Bald Minh says, thoughtfully.

"Such are the risks of this life." The Mammoth says, with a world weary tone.

"How many times have you done this?" The blonde Minh asks, scrutinising the man.

The Mammoth slumps his shoulders, slightly, "Too many times and I have lost so many good people. So, I choose  to put myself in harm's way, before them." He pauses, thoughtfully, "You have raised merry hell tonight and my superiors, have determined that you are a great threat to everyone living in this part of the world. They have sent my team and I to deal with you." He takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "My gut tells me that you are no more a threat to the civilian population of this area than I am. I also get the feeling that if you were going to kill me and my people, it would have happened by now."

"We could say the same of you." The long haired Minh says, staring at the man, with a gaze hard enough to penetrate his soul, "The lives you have touched float around you like a cloak, weighing down your soul. In that respect we are the same."

"How do you live with it?" The Mammoth asks, feeling an ache in his heart. "The guilt."

"We balance the darkness we have wrought with light we protect in the world. For everyone we condemn for their crimes, we raise another up." Bald Minh says, with utmost sincerity.

The Mammoth nods and takes a deep breath. He extends a massive hand towards Minh and gently shakes the smaller mans hand, "There is a lot of darkness within my soul. I have no desire for this night to darken it any further."

Minh shakes the massive man's hand and nods, "The darkness never goes entirely, no matter what you do. But it makes the light you bring to the world shine that much brighter."

"Do you think people like us ever find peace?" The Mammoth says, his eyes moistening, inside his helmet. Images from dozens of interventions flash through his mind, he sees every drop of blood, every tear and feels every plea in his heart.

"I have died many times without finding a lasting peace." Minh thinks, trying to keep his voice even. "Each time I am reborn anew, but haunted by the same darkness. It surrounds me, only abating in the quiet moments, when I hold on tighter to love, than I do to pain. Only in those moments, do I find a measure of solace."

The Mammoth nods to himself, lost in his own thoughts, "I can respect that."

The Mammoth and Minh regard each other for an endless moment, seeing themselves reflected back in the other. They see each others strength and power and know that each gazes upon a kindred spirit.

"You have done bad things and seen the horrors of the world. But at your core, you are a good man." Minh says, with a thoughtful tone. 

Something inside The Mammoth crumbles and a single tear rolls down his cheek, "I have tried to be a good man, but, I have wrought so much evil." He thinks, seeing the faces of those he has incarcerated, during the commision of his duties.

Long haired Minh, regards him closely, "You do not live a live you have chosen. Do you?"

The Mammoth stands quietly, struck dumb, before he finds the strength to speak, "I was an operations commander for JTF2 in Canada. Served my country with distinction for over a decade. Then I got a phone call from my sister, she was in hospital after her boyfriend came home drunk and slapped her around for the umpteenth time." He takes a slow ragged breath, remembering that night, "I saw red and went AWOL. Three hours later eight cops were pulling me off of him, but they were too late and he died on his way to hospital." 

He puts his weapon across his back letting the sling bear it's weight, "The night before my trial, a man with no name came to my cell and gave me a choice. Ever since that night, I have been hunting down those who may pose a danger to society and condemning them to a life without trial, if they don't step into line."

"Bad things, does not a bad person make. You may have done bad things, but you have done so without letting evil into your heart." Long haired Minh says softly, placing a hand gently on his shoulder, "It is not in our power to forgive you, but we can give you permission to find your own path to forgiveness."

The floodgates open within the Mammoth and he softly weeps, struggling to speak, " Thank you."

"Live well." The four Minh's, say as one. 

The Mammoth has no time to react, as each of the four Minh's explodes into a cloud of flies. He watches breathless as they swirl around him, their irridescent wings glittering in the moonlight, for the briefest of moments.  

When the down-draught of the helicopter rotors above, scatters the insects to the four winds, The Mammoth feels a profound sense of loss and sinks to his knees weeping.



From deep within the jungle, Jim, Hel and Fey watch speechless, through the video and audio pickups in the Mammoth's helmet.

They watch in silence, as the Mammoth, removes his helmet, letting it fall to the ground and begins to walk away. A moment later the helicopters land around the site where Nikita crashed their bikes and the soldiers , file out, to run after the big man.

The siblings smile as the first waves of insects start to coalesce, gradually becoming Nikita again. Hel gently helps Nikita into her shorts and t-shirt, as she lays still, her breathing shallow. "She will be weak until more of her re-incorporates." Hel says, sensing the truth through Nikita's clothing.

Dani sits on the sofa, close to tears, surrounded by a pall of tobacco smoke, she switchds from the open channel that T.H.I.S. can monitor, to their encrypted channel, "How is the hero of the hour?"

"Weak but coming back to us." Fey says, smiling down at Nikita, as she starts to open her eyes, "How did you know it would work?"

"When I was dead, I watched her split in to a swarm of hornets, so I figured if she could do thousands of insects, she could do four people. I must admit, copying Fey's build, making each of their faces look like Roberts and giving them jet black skin was inspired on her part." Dani says, recalling the conversation, they all had as the helicopters chased them through the jungle. "I know I said about leading them away, but she took it to another level. I reckon that big guy may never be the same again."

"She was pretty amazing." Jim says, cradling Nikita in his arms.

"She always has been." Dani says, thinking back to the countless times Nikita has surprised her. "The trouble is, much as it is plain to see for everyone else, she never sees it."

Hel, Fey and Jim grin at each other before Jim says, "The same is also true of you."

Feeling suddenly self conscious, Dani tries to change the subject, "Are you able to get on the move?"

"She will be out for while, at least until she pulls herself together, but we are ok here for now." Jim confirms, checking the camoflage of their position.



They huddle together concealed in the undergrowth, watching the soldiers and The Mammoth. From this distance it is clear that they are talking, but they cannot hear about what.  The flow of conversation from the body language and what little sound carries this far, indicates that The Mammoth speaks, then the men cheer. This back and forth continues and swells until the shout of the soldiers rise across the pepper fields like a crescendo.

Without warning, the men march back to the helicopters and place their helmets to the ground. The Mammoth returns to the helicopter that brought him here and begins doing something underneath it, as other men work on the undersides of the other aircraft.

Jim squints trying to see what he is doing, without success. He closes his eyes and finds he can connect to the helicopters and access their systems. Just as he considers stealing them, he pauses, realising what the Mammoth and some of his colleagues are doing.

He opens his eyes and softly whispers, "They are removing the aircraft's GPS, IFF and any other tracking devices."

"Why would they do that?" Fey asks, confused.

"If I didn't know better, I would say that they are about to go AWOL." Dani says, thoughtfully.

"Shame, we could have had a helicopter ride home." Hel says, with a shrug.

"It's in hand." Jim says, inscrutably.

Nikita reaches up weakly still gaining her strength and grips Jim's t-shirt, pulling him down to whisper in his ear. He smiles to himself as he listens nodding. Hel and Fey look on curiously, while he keys his mike and announces, "Message for the Unstoppable Beast from the Unkillable Maniac, your plans no longer suck."

[GreyLord]

[mention]wolfman[/mention] , I hope that you can at least glimpse the huge inspiration that you are to me and, I am confidant, your other readers. This is another fantastic chapter. Whichever of the children you focus on within any given segment of your story is always amazing. As Heinlein might say, waiting is.

[wolfman]

@wolfman , I hope that you can at least glimpse the huge inspiration that you are to me and, I am confidant, your other readers. This is another fantastic chapter. Whichever of the children you focus on within any given segment of your story is always amazing. As Heinlein might say, waiting is.

Thank you very much for your kind words. I was a little worried about that chapter and it took me a while to get it where I was happy with it.

This is a story with a number of stars and I want each to shine in their own unique ways.

Thank you for reading.

[wolfman]

They watch as the helicopters slowly climb into the sky, Nikita snaps a weak salute at the helicopters and then waves, when they bank and head north east. "Live well." She whispers, softly.

"No way." Jim exclaims, holding up his phone to show his sisters the camera feed from The Mammoths helicopter.

The soldiers inside all have their faces painted jet black and sit quietly, looking at peace. One of the men whistles and points to the camera. The light in the cabin clicks on bathing it in a green hue. Lumbering to his feet and then slowly turning, The Mammoth smiles at the camera and nods. 

He holds up a finger, mouthing the word "Wait." Furtive fingers fumble in his pockets, before pulling out a piece of paper and a pen, to write a quick message. 

Jim and his sisters, lean in close to the screen, wait with baited breath as he writes. The Mammoth holds up the sheet of paper which shows a simple three word message, "We are Minh." 



"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Hel asks, scratching the back of her neck.

"He is not happy with his life. Traded a life in prison, for a life he viewed as a sentence. I showed him a way out and gave him a myth to believe in." Nikita says, feeling a bit more like herself, as she waits for the last few flies to come back to her. 

"So." Jim pauses, trying to get his head round it, "He and his men are going to run around being the Mrenh Kongveal?"

"Maybe." Nikita says, lighting a cigarette, "If they all are like the big guy, they all have their own darkness and want to bring a little light to the world."

"I will keep an eye on them." Jim says with a smile.

"Thanks Badger." Nikita says, taking a slow lungful of smoke, "It might be useful to have them on speed dial should we ever need the cavalry."

"Is it worth getting close to them to see what they know about T.H.I.S?" Fey asks, in a hopeful tone.

"I think so, but might be wise to let things cool off with them first. When things have calmed down and they are set up, we make a formal approach." Nikita thoughtfully, before asking, "How are we getting back?"

"We could take the bikes, but it will take a few hours and it will be getting light soon." Fey says, cheching the time.

Jim purses his lips and gets to his feet, "Come on let's get moving." He says with a smile as he sets off towards the bikes.



They move cautiously across the field advancing on the spot where their bikes rest. The buzz of insects begins to slowly build as as thin ribbon of lighter blue, teases the horizon. A cool breeze sweeps across the field, leaving a thin layer of dust in it's wake.

"Shit, they are totalled." Hel says, seeing the damage that the hellfire missile did to the dirt bikes.

"Yeah, I know." Jim says, trying to sound casual, nudging a discarded helmet with his foot.

"If you knew, why are we wasting time walking out here." Fey says, raising her voice over the sound of the local insects.

All except Jim duck, as six large drones swoop low, before hovering overhead. The hang in the air like birds of prey, stalking their prey. Four powerful propellers, with one at each corner, keeps each aloft but send clouds of dust billowing across the field.

Jim walks calmly forward and steps up onto the nose of a drone as it lowers and dips it's nose. Over his earpiece, he nonchallantly says, "What? Do you think I sent them back to base?"

Nikita chuckles and walks forward to step on another drone, "Makes sense. Let me guess, if T.H.I.S. had turned on us, these bad boys would have swept the skies clean."

"Pretty much." Jim smiles and winks. "Dani told us dad has a saying, 'If you don't have a back-up, you don't have a plan.' Wise words."

Hel and Fey shakily get on the backs of two other drones and hunch down, gripping a maintenance handle for stability. Fey whoops as the drones take to the air and sweep low across the tops of the trees.

Nikita grins to herself, as they streak across Cambodia towards home. She laughs out loudly, revelling in the speed of the craft and the feeling of the wind in her hair. She closes her eyes and sinks onto the sensation, thinking, "I needed this. It has been so long since I felt this unbridled and free."

Hel lays flat on the drone, staring ahead, feeling the vibrations of the aircraft course through her body. She closes her eyes and puts her earpiece in her pocket, wanting to lose herself in the feeling of power, coursing through her.

Fey screams with joy, each time her drone dives into a valley and sharply climbs over a jungle covered mountain top, to hug the terrain.

"This is so much better that trudging through the jungle." Nikita screams, joyfully.

"What are you going to do with them?" Fey asks, wondering if she can keep one.

"I will fly them out to sea and land them in deep water. They will have trace evidence from this ride and there is a risk that they can trace them back to me. Better to be safe than sorry." Jim explains, reluctant to let them go, but knowing it is the right thing to do.

"Can you like, get stuff like this, easily?" Hel asks, trying to sound innocent.

"It depends. If the security is low, few air defences in the area, jets not available to intercept, it is doable. Here it is easier, than say the US or UK." Jim replies off handedly.



Carl and Dani wave at them, as they come in to land. Dani hugs the blanket around herself, feeling a wave of relief wash over her, seeing her siblings step off of the drones. "They are home." She thinks, feeling a profound sense of relief.

Jim is the first to disembark as they land, but the others soon follow. "I don't know who to hug first." Dani thinks, filled with joy. A tear trickles from her left eye, as she watches them approach. Thoughts of warmth and love for her siblings race through her mind, faster than she can track, as the jungle starts to spin.

Nikita lashes out with her left arm tentacles, catching Dani before she falls. Effortlessly she lifts her and carries her inside, "Poor thing she is so weak, she pushes herself too hard to be here for us. She needs to rest."

Jim and other others rush inside after Nikita and Dani, all consumed with silent trepidation. Carl looks back at the drones as they take to the skies and head east towards the sea. As they hove out of view, he focuses and follows his brother and sisters, deep in thought.



Nikita lays Dani down on her bed and pulls the blanket over her sister, leaving her right arm to rest on top of the covers.

Fey peeks around the door, "Is she ok?" She asks, fearfully.

Nikita looks up and smiles gently, "Yeah, she just needs to rest for a bit. I am going to give her a blood transfusion, try and build her up a bit."

"Cool. Do you want something to eat?" Fey asks, relieved.

"Sounds good, I am starving." Nikita says, pulling a first aid kit from under Dani's bed, smiling at how her sister is ready for anything.

"Be right back." Fey says, with a grin, ducking out of the room.

Nikita settles in the chair by the bed and slips a needle into her arm, securing it with tape. She looks down at Dani and sweeps a curl of hair out of her face, gently. "I have missed you so much babe." She whispers, remembering the night that she waved goodbye to Dani and swam away.

She squeezes Dani's shoulder and whispers, "Don't you ever do that again." She wipes her eyes slips the needle on the other end of the tube into Dani's arm. 

Nikita leans back in the chair and closes her eyes, trying to convince herself it is just for a moment.



Fey returns with a plate of chilli beef and Thai green curried chicken pizza and stops herself from speaking, noticing Nikita's head tilted back and her eyes are closed. Fey smiles at her and softly places the plate on the bedside table. "Feels so wierd having them both here finally. Shame we can't stick around long enough to make the best of it."

She unfolds a blanket and lays it over Nikita, gently tucking it in. She stops herself before turning to leave and reaches down, gently brushing Nikita's cheek and imparting a feeling of peace.

She slips silently from the room, pulling the door quietly closed, behind her.

"How are they doing?" Hel asks softly, as the door clicks closed.

Fey grins, "They are both fast asleep. I have left the pizza in there for them."

"They have earned their rest." Hel says, with a smile, "We are just going to have some pizza ourselves. You coming?"

"Lead the way." Fey says, feeling a rumble in her stomach.



Carl claims his fifth slice of pizza and looks cock eyed at Jim, "So Minh, how does it feel being Cambodia's most wanted?"

"Leave it mate." Jim says, wearily, as he looks away.

"Whoa, sorry mate, I didn't mean to upset you." Carl says, genuinely worried he has hurt his brother.

"I have never seen you like that." Hel says, concerned, "What happened?"

"One of the men who took me from the club had a photo on his phone that made me see red." Jim says, recalling the image.

"Bullshit." Hel says, "I don't buy it for a moment. There is no way a photo would cause you to do that."

Jim picks up his phone, projecting the image onto it's screen and hands it to Hel, "Pass it around."

She stares at the image and then back at Jim. Slowly, her hand covers her mouth and with numb fingers she passes the phone to Fey.

Fey stares at the phone shaking her head in denial, "No. No way. This can't be real."

Carl finishes his slice of pizza and sits hext to Fey as she hold the phone almost in tears. He sees the picture and his jaw drops. He puts his arm around Fey and squeezes her shoulder. 

Jim empties an ice cold can of Guiness into a pint glass and takes a long draft, "The photo was taken last year, american girl, on holiday in Thailand. Snatched to order and handed off at the docks of Sihanoukville. That much I got from data mining the cartel."

"Shit, Dani and Niki will go mental over this." Hel says, gathering her thoughts.

"Dani will gear up and go as soon as she finds out." Fey warns, "God knows what Niki will do."

"There is more." Jim says, staring at his pint, "I was able to connect to T.H.I.S. network, through one of the discarded helmets." He pauses, feeling the weight of his thoughts, "She is not the only one. They are at least a dozen others, that have been taken by T.H.I.S."

"How is this possible?" Hel asks, feeling a chasm open in her stomach.

"Doesn't matter." Carl says with a hard edge to his voice, "What are we going to do about it? What do we know?"

"They have been taken to a place called the Eyrie. From what I can tell it's somewhere in Europe." Jim confirms, "There weren't many details on the network itself, about the location of the site. However, there are a lot of links to UN affirmative action commitees. I can't be sure, but if I have to guess, I would say that they are a United Nations section."

"Bit of a step change for them. I thought they only issued strongly worded letters by commitee." Hel says, pensively, "All joking aside, we need to be careful." 

"Agreed,  I suggest we say nothing to Dani or Niki. We gather as much intel as we can and lay it out for them when we can present a full picture." Carl suggests, before taking a sip of scotch.

"With the heat from tonight, they will probably want to return to the UK, or at least get out of the country." Jim says, thoughtfully, "We can stagger our arrival in the UK. We have contingencies in place to get to various branches of Lazarus Advanced around the world. We use contingencies and arrange transport from our designated offices. If we stick to the plan, we will have a week of travelling to regroup."

"Nice, I will head to the Hemel Hempstead branch as soon as possible. I will retask some of the facilities to make any gear we need. I have a few things I want to work up." Carl says, already generating schematics, in his mind.

"I can data mine on the move, from anywhere. I will fly in from Kuala Lumpur in a couple of days and join you in Hemel." Jim confirms, nodding to himself, "I have sent copies to your email, for you to review. There is a lot of data, I might have missed something."

Hel nods to herself, "I can join from from Adelaide in about four days. In the mean time I will look into missing persons reports, matching the profile."

Jim turns to Fey, with a grave look on his face, "Change of plan for your arrangements. T.H.I.S. Is a section of the UN. It could be too risky to fly out from New York. Can you return via Milan?"

"Sure. I have always wantd to go to Italy." Fey says, with a grin. "Will be able to to join you in about four days too."



"Look I know we are all keen to meet dad and Sasha, I think we need to give Niki space and be there for Dani." Jim says, wearily. "How is Dani? You were with her while we were out and about. Is she ok?" 

"She was all for dosing up with PCS and protein and charging out to join you." Carl says, rubbing the stubble on his chin, "She is who she has always been, but her pattern is different."

"In what way?" Hel asks.

"Her pattern is more intense in many ways." Carl tries to explain, "It is darker and yet brighter. It is hard to explain."

"What does that mean?" Fey asks, worried.

Carl knocks back another scotch and shakes his head, "I have no idea." He nurses his empty glass thoughtfully, "I am not sure I want to find out."

[Caesar73]

Very mysterious As so very often. I like that So the road will lead back to Europe. Looking forward to it. The Girls come around - a lot

[GreyLord]

I would be nice to get the whole gang together. But you might have very different things in mind. Whatever, I am sure it will be great.

[wolfman]

Nikita wakes slowly, feeling a slight ache from the chair. The room swims into focus slowly, a myriad shapes swimming in a sea of nonsense. She takes a deep breath and takes out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a deep lungful of tobacco.

She watches the smoke curl and whorl in the air and begins to come back to herself. She starts to focus and runs her fingers through her hair, thinking, "Why do I feel so knackered?"

She notices the needle in her arm and slowly withdraws it, watching the hole close on its own. She takes out the first aid kit and gently pulls the other needle from Dani's arm. With gentle care, she places a small pad over the needle mark on Dani's arm and uses a little medical tape to hold it in place.

"At least that explains why I am so tired. I have been pumping blood into Dani all night.." She whispers to herself, then examines Dani's life pulse, with a smile, "Strong as ever babe, just need to feed you up a little."

Nikita sits for a moment feeling the pulses of the others in the house, "Looks like Mike and Chelle have already left and it is just the family now." She thinks feeling a pang of regret in her heart, that Sasha and he father are not here.

Nikita wipes a tear from her eye with the back of her hand and asks herself, "How the hell can I tell them about everything?  'Hi. Cambodia was fun. Dani is back from the dead. Speaking of which, James Okoye, Carl Graves, Helen Carver and Amy Woodruff are all alive again. Yeah Dani was keeping them hidden in Cambodia and trained them as a well oiled fighting unit. Mike helped, training Amy to be basically a ninja.' Shit." She squeezes the bridge of her nose and takes a slow draw on her cigarette, then covers her mouth with her hand.

She looks down at Dani and laughs softly to herself, "Fuck's sake Dani." The whispers, shaking her head. "I have missed you."



Nikita stubs out her cigarette. Then quietly rises from her seat, to stalk silently across the room and claim two bottles of water from Dani's minifridge. She takes a large mouthful of the super cold liquid and returns to her seat with the bottles. After savouring another large gulp of lager, she takes a slice of cold pizza from the plate on the bedside table and wolfs it down. 

Quickly wolfing down a second slice and a third in quick succession to replace some of the nutrients in her body, almost feeling the nutrients being absorbed and digested by her body. She takes her time with the fourth slice savouring the flavour of the beef and chicken on the pizza, their heat balanced with the cheese.  

The fifth slice goes down easy, each mouthful an explosion of flavour, as she feels her body recover a little more. With gusto she devours more and more until the pizza is gone.  On weary legs she picks up the empty plate and wanders towards the kitchen. "Dani will need food too." She thinks, loading up the plate with more pizza and other treats from the fridge.

She puts the plate down on the bed side table and retakes her seat. She drains the bottle of water and quietly places in the bin. GRabbing another bottle from the fridge. With a sigh she leans back in the chair and pulls the blanket over herself and reaches down to gently squeeze Dani's hand. 

Nikita closes her eyes and allows herself to drift back to sleep, thinking, "Now this country is in flames, we will need to get out of here, somehow. I wonder what dad will say."



Dani opens her eyes, slowly at first, then sharply as she realises something is touching her hand. She looks down panicked then relaxes, with the realisation that Nikita was holding her hand. She sees the bottle of water on the bedside table and cracks it open, taking a long swig, "She left me a cold one, bless her." She relishes the feel of the cold water, running down her throat.

With a growl from her stomach, she turns her attention to the plate of food, wolfing down slice after slice of pizza and two chicken legs, before taking a break. She knocks back more beer and sighs to herself. "I have never been so hungry." She can almost feel the PCS from Nikita's blood, thundering through her veins and dragging nutrients from her digestive system, into her bloodstream and straight to her muscles and organs.

She pauses for a moment, feeling the thump of her heart in her chest. She quickly strips leaving only her knickers on. She climbs back into bed pulling the cover over herself and gently flicks it up, letting it fall and rest against her skin. "After six weeks with no body, everything feels so good." She smiles to herself, revelling in the simple pleasure of clean sheets against her skin and sighs to herself.

She slumps back in the bed and closes her eyes, "While you have a quiet moment, maybe you should take stock of yourself." She thinks, slowing her breathing.

She starts at her toes, clenching and releasing each muchly in turn until, she tenses her forehead in a frown. Then she works her way down her body back to her toes. She sinks into the feeling of relaxation, as she repeats the exercise, releasing all the tension in her body, with the still self massage.

Dani lets her mind wander, calling forth images from her life, people she killed, places she has been, vehicles she has driven. "Ok, my memory works. I guess it is just the other thing."

She stares at the belt casually draper over a chair on the other side of the room and wills it to move. When it refuses to move. She takes a slow breath and focuses, trying again to move it. Her face betrays no emotion when the belt remains motionless. She releases the breath, slowly, "That's that then."



Dani stares at the ceiling, feeling the part of herself that used to be the Zombie. "There is nothing there. The Zombie really is gone. I guess it is normal old me then." She decides, with a feeling of calm.

"Nothing is special about me. I am normal once again." Dani thinks to herself, "Stuff it. Maybe I have relied on that side of me too much. Seems like a sign I need to go back to basics and find out what I can really do."

She quietly rises from the bed and slips on a pair of lycra shorts and a sports bra. Barefoot, she pads through the quiet house, making a beeline for the gym. 



Dani steps back from the heavy punch bag covered in a fine sheen of sweat. "Good. My body seems to have come back with some measure of muscle memory." She says to herself, "With a bit of luck the PCS will augment recovery of the muscles I have used to punch, kick, elbow and knee this session."

She wipes the sweat from her brow and then, leaves the gym, heading for the firing range. "I think I can fight in close quarters, now to find out about firearms."

She stalks though the silent halls of the home and enters the firing range. "Let's start small." She thinks, pulling a handgun from the rack of firearms at the rear of the large chamber. She loads three magazines by hand and slams one home.

Dani programs a moving target, commanding it to follow a randow path and hits activate. The small drone streaks away with a target suspended underneath it.

She snaps up the weapon and dives over the barrier entering the range. She takes off at a sprint and unleashes a series of double taps into the target as the drone swoops and banks. Effortlessly, she reloads and continues her barrage, until all of her ammunition is gone.

She returns to the barrier and climbs over, then hits the "return" button on the drones controller. As the drone hovers before her, she counts the bullet holes in the target. "I missed twice out of fifty four shots." she berates herself, changing the target on the drone, for a fresh paper target six inches across. "I have relied on my abilities for too long, I need to get grounded in my skills more."

With grim determination, she loads another five magazines and sends the drone out. She dives over the barrier and chases the drone around the range, snapping off double taps and single shots until the last magazine runs dry. She recalls the drone and checks the target, unable to see how many shots hits the shredded target. "Not a great test, but I certainly made a mess of it."



She crosses the barrier and slips the weapon and empty magazines back into the rack. She stares at the array of weapons, thoughtfully, before pulling a sleek matte black weapon from the shelf. The weapon is roughly a metre long, constructed of composite plastic, with a rectangular profile, with a handgrip and thumb grip cut out of its body. The finish of the weapon is impeccable, smooth clean lines aside from the quick aim sight mounted on top.

Dani hefts the weapon, appreciating it's weight. "So this is Carl's latest invention, eh?" She thinks to herself, remembering what Carl said about it, "The coilgun. A twenty coil sequential magnetic accelerator, using electromagnetic coils to accelerate a projectile towards a target. Capable of near silent subsonic shots, without a silencer on lower settings with high power automatic fire on the top setting."

"It's heavier than I thought." She thinks, hefting the weapon, "With will enhanced strength, I would have wielded this like a toy." She recalls, the power she once had and stares sadly down the range, before a she imagines Nikita whispering, "You are more than the abilities you had."

She smiles to herself and focuses on the moment and gives herself to the task at hand. She sends the target drone out and takes aim, selecting the lowest setting. She squeezes of a few shots seeing the target twitch but hearing nothing from the weapon. "Nice, this would be good for covert work."

Dailing the weapon up to full, Dani takes aim again, bracing for recoil, that doesn't come. A squeeze of the trigger later, summons a crackling buzz and the target disintegrates. She pauses and checks the capacity of the weapon. "That is brutal. This could have a lot of potential." 

She sends out a dozen more target drones and shreds their targets with a series of short bursts. "Damn Carl this is something else."

After two magazines, she feels comfortable with the weapon, "Five hundred rounds per mag, hellacious rate of fire, barely any recoil and pinpoint accuracy. This should not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands." She thinks setting it back, in the rack.

Dani spends another hour, testing various weapons from submachine guns, to shotguns and assault rifles, before heading back to her room thinking "My edge isn't as sharp as it once was, but it is still there." 



Dani settles back into her bed and lights a cigarette, blowing smoke rings at the ceiling. She smiles in the darkened room and thinks to herself, "I think I will be alright." She gazes up at Nikita and nods, "I am not running away again, babe. This time I want to stick around."

She lays back blowing smoke at the ceiling, controlling her breathing as she smokes and once she is finishes she stubs out her cigarette and falls straight to sleep.



Images of men in uniform, standing over her brothers and sisters bodies while Nikita is helpless to intervene. Tight straps bind her from head to foot, utterly encasing her body, preventing her from changing into hornets or use her tentacles and too strong to break.

Tubes down her throat and other tubes taking waste from her body. Faceless men endlessly testing her, just like the people from Medteqniq did. She screams without sound feeling a million indignities all at once.

Nikita wakes with a start panting, frantically looking around the room in a panic, as the dream keeps hold of her. She feels a warmth on her arm and looks down fearfully, to see Dani's hand on her arm and her sister looking up at her. Dani gets out of bed and hugs her sister, "It's ok. I'm back now. Together we can face anything."

Dani rocks her sister gently in her arms, "I've got you." She whispers over and over like a mantra, worried about her sister.

"'I'm sorry Dani. Just a bad dream." Nikita says, eventually recovering. She closes her eyes and prays that it was a dream and not a vision of things to come.

[slackywacky]

It is hard to phantom that this story is already 10 month in the making and it is still fresh. It is a whirlwind of action, excellent situational descriptions and great characters. Well done.

[Caesar73]

I love especially the last Paragraphs of this latest Chapter. It shows the sensitivity of Dani very well, how much she cares for her familiy!

[wolfman]

“I don’t know about you, but I need a smoke.” Nikita says, pulling out two cigarettes from her pack and offering one to her sister.
 
Dani lights it and takes a deep drag, “Thanks, you are a lifesaver.” She leans back against a wall, then curiously asks, “Something on your mind?”
 
Nikita slumps her shoulders and chuckles, “You got me.” She admits, “I wanted to talk to you, away from the others.”
 
Dani looks closely at her sister, thinking, “She looks tired.”
 
“We haven’t had much of a chance to speak, since I returned. I wanted a chance to speak to you.” Nikita says, with a smile.
 
“What’s wrong babe?” Dani asks, gently.
 
“Nothing really. Can I ask you something? There is something that has been bugging me since La Palma” Nikita asks, nervously.
 
Dani smiles and nods, “Of course you can.”
 
“We all have special abilities. If I wasn't sure before, meeting our brothers and sisters has convinced me. My question is why don’t Kate and Dad have powers?” She blurts out.
 
Dani takes a deep lungful of smoke and exhales slowly, “I have no idea why Kate doesn’t have any abilities.”
 
“Are you saying, Dad does?” Nikita asks, raising her eyebrows.
 
“Have you noticed that when you are upset or emotional, once he puts his arm around you and starts talking, the emotions fade? Or, how he never loses an argument, that he wants to win?” Dani says, knowingly.
 
“Very funny.” Niki chuckles.
 
“Sasha was ready to gut Sal on the plane heading to La Palma, less than a minute with dad, she was fine.” Dani says, running her fingers through her hair. "Every operative on the plane was nervous and scared, he shakes their hands and has a quiet word with them and all of a sudden, everyone is calm and focused."
 
Nikita leans back against the door, thoughtfully rolling the implications of her sisters words around in her mind, “When I said about everything we found out from Roberts, it was like I had a razor edged focus. It is like he removes all barriers and helps you see what you need to see.”
 
“It is more subtle than our abilities, but no less powerful.” Dani says, warmly.
 
“It makes sense to be fair. What doesn’t make sense is why Kate doesn’t have any abilities.” Nikita says, “Unless….” She trails off.
 
“Do you have an idea?” Dani asks, blowing smoke down at the floor.
 
“What if her power is even less obvious than dad's?” Nikita says, thinking aloud. 
 
“Interesting idea, what are your thoughts?.” Dani says, stubbing out her cigarette.
 
“Kate and Sasha formed a bond quickly and she was willing to put her life on the line for you, by injecting herself with PCS.”  Nikita says, stubbing out her own smoke. "From what Dad has said, he and Lou didn't really know her very well and overnight they became the best of friends. Maybe her power is the ability to connect to others."
 
"Interesting idea." Dani says, thoughtfully. "Maybe we should ask him. When we get back."

"Are you thinking we should get out of dodge as well?" Nikita asks, with a wink.

Dani nods, subtly, "Yeah, the authorities will tear this country apart looking for the Mrenh Kongveal. Besides, I think it would be good for everyone to meet, Dad, Sasha and well everyone."

"So we are agreed, then?" Nikita asks, gently.

"I think we are." Dani says, gently punching her sisters arm, "Look, when we go back. Will you promise me that you will stay with me while I explain what has been going on."

"I was going to ask the same thing." Nikita says, relieved.

"So many secrets are due to my actions. I will step up and explain myself." Dani nods, feeling at peace.



Jim reclines on the sofa in silk pyjama bottoms and a robe, nursing a cup of strong, black coffee. He casts his gaze around the room, seeing Carl feverishly typing on a laptop and watching Hel and Fey chatting about what they would like to do in England.

"This could be the last time we do this here." He thinks with a tinge of sadness. He smiles at the memories they have shared in this place andwonders what the future will bring.

Having never seen Carl concentrate so hard when designing something, he connects his mind to Carl's laptop to see what he is working on.

Carl looks up at Jim as he hears him gasp. He simply gives him a grin and goes back to work.

Carl sees a message flash on his screen from Jim, "Do you need me to pull schematics?"

"No, thanks I am going from scratch, but I will need help with control software." Carl responds, with a grin.

"What will it need? It is just a bike?" Jim mesages, looking at the motorcycle chassis.

Carl switches screen and shows the full concept sketch. It shows a motorcycle type chassis, with a sleek shell covering the pilot, mounted on a sturdy frame, with six large thrust vectoring nozzles, pointing towards the ground.

"That will need software for stabilisation, vector control and thrust management." Jim messages thoughtfully, before sending a message saying, "You are making a jet bike!" On a background of exploding fireworks.

Carl grins, "With your help mate, the sooner you get to Hemel the sooner it will be ready. The 3D printed and CAD will be able to make most of the stuff, but I will need help with sourcing some of the components "

Jim messages a thumbs up and the words, "Send me a list, we will make this happen."



"So let me get this straight." Fey says, pinching the bridge of her nose, "We can do anything we want and you want to visit the British Museum, Natural History Museum, the Tate Modern, The Albert Hall and Abbey Road studios?"

Hel shrugs sheepishly, "Yeah, I really do." She takes a deep breath, "I want to go places where history was made and just commune with it. See the Magna Carta being signed, feel the thrill of performing to a sell out concert, see the Beatles live, Witness what happened to the dinosaurs."

"Ok cool." Fey smiles back, then with a faraway look in her eyes says, "On one condition." See pauses, thoughtfully, "Actually two."

Hel groans a little inside, imagining the club Fey will want to drag her too, already dreading the press of flesh and the intrusion of drunken strangers thoughts into her mind. "No matter how bad it will be, it is worth it to make her smile, the soppy sod."

Hel smiles and nods, "Go on then. Hit me with it."

"If we do them,  Could we also do Stonehenge and Loch Ness." Fey asks, nervously.

Hel's mouth hangs open as she berates herself for not thinking of them herself, "Done." She says, giggling. "Come on then, what do you want to do?"

Fey's smile falters for a moment, "I don't know." She says looking down at the floor.

"What's wrong, babe?" Hel asks, putting her arm around her sister.

"We are all sat her pretending things are normal." Fey says on the edge of tears, "But, they aren't normal. They will never be normal again."

"Oh Fey." Hel whispers, hugging her sister, "Things are bad, but we will be ok. We have each other."

Fey allows the floodgates to open and she gently cries on her shoulder.

Without a word, Carl and Jim join their sisters, sending Fey's pain and join in the hug.



Dani and Nikita drift into the living room dressed in tracksuit bottoms and tank tops. Everyone looks up from their respective seats, having returned to where they were before the hug.

"Thought we were going to have to find some smelling salts." Jim says, warmly. Then he stares at Dani.

"What? What's wrong?" Dani asks, worried.

"You look great." Jim says, stunned, "You have never looked so well."

"Thank's Jim." Dani says, blushing. 

"He ain't wrong, darlin'. You look...." Carl pauses, searching for the right words, "You look vibrant."

"Come on guys. What about the rest of us?" Hel says, in mock protest, sensing Dani's discomfort.

Carl grins, "What do you reckon Niki? Would you be able to give Hel a makeover, like you did for Fey?" Carl jokes.

"Harsh." Hel says, pretending to be hurt.

"Niki, say the word and we will strap her to a chair and hand you some scissors." Carl says, winking at Hel.

"Says the guy with shoulder length, hair thirty years out of style." Nikita quips, with a grin.

"Now, hold on a moment." Carl says slightly worried.

"Short back and sides?" Nikita says, playfully, as she split her right arm into tentacles and snatches up a pair of  scissors.

Carl chuckles to himself, "Bugger it. Go on then. Cut it so that it suits me. Could do with a slicker look for our return to the UK."



Nikita brushes the last loose hair from his shoulders and waits for a moment while he uses his phone to see how he looks. He nods appreciatively, seeing his now shorter and tidier blond hair, cut short at the back with a little on top.

Nikita smiles, thinking, "I thought he looked like dad after he shaved, but he really does now, without the hair over his face."

"Thanks Niki. I really like it." Carl says, sincerely, "You are really good at this."

"Thanks Carl, I appreciate it." Nikita says, brushing the last of the hair off of the floor, "So, the UK?"

"Yeah. Cambodia is too hot at the moment, it is probably best if we quietly slip away. We were thinking of the UK." Carl explains, "Truth is, we need you. You have changed all of us in some way. Fey is a new woman, Jim and Hel are more confident than they have ever been."

"Thanks Carl. Have I changed you too?" She asks, lighting a cigarette.

He nods gently, "You gave me a chance to believe in myself when we were rescuing Fey and at the opium fields. You have shown me a side of myself that can take chances. That extends to my technical skills too. I am making leaps and bounds with new product development." He grins, "The drone network is ready. We have prototypes of the drones and the base unit at our Hemel facility."

"That was fast." Nikita says, surprised, "I was expecting a few weeks at least."

"Nah, with the set up we have in Hemel, we can 3D print most components, only order in those things we cannot build and get new designs to prototype in less than a week. I am working up the designs for something at the moment and I am keen to get there to manage this one personally." Carl admits, warmly.

"What is the office like?" Nikita asks, blowing smoke out of the corner of her mouth. 

"Quite nice from what I can tell." Carl says with a shrug, "We set up a little while ago and did recruitment and have done management remotely ever since. None of us have been there."

"Wont it look a bit suspect all of us flying to the UK together." Nikita asks, thoughtfully.

"We all have established covers around the world. Backed up with spoofed cctv feeds to provide alibi's should we need it. We have routes out of the country set up to get us to our cover locations and we can fly from there back to the UK." Carl explains, "As a result, we will stagger our return to the UK and arrive at different airports, then the plan is we converge on the office."

"'Interesting, when do you plan getting back?" Nikita asks, impressed with the idea.

"If we initiate today, Carl will land tomorrow, me the day after, with Hel and Fey two days later." Carl confirms, "Dani. Well Dani will show up when she is ready. You are legitimately here, so you could fly back today, if you wanted."

"I think I had better leave it a day or two, would be suspect otherwise." Nikita says, with a shrug.

"Fair point." Dani adds, from the doorway. "I need a few days downtime before I do anything. I was thinking of hanging around for a couple of days to." She says, nervously.

Nikita's eyes light up and she beams a smile at Dani, "I would love that." She says, without hesitation.

"Me too. Since the moment we met, all those months ago we have been comrades in arms. It is time we became sisters, as well." Dani says, entering the room and hugging Nikita warmly.

[Caesar73]

One Part I really like is the conversation between Dani and Nikita at the Start of this chapter. The atmosphere is a quiet one, we see the sisters at ease, how they talk about Kate and her dad, those characters have depth, they have all their strenghts and weaknesses. They are human being to the core, despite their transhuman powers. Beautifully done!

[wolfman]

Four days later

Sasha smiles to herself, as she steps off of the train onto the platform at Watford train station. "This has been a good day, the scan of the baby was clear and the little one appeared to be healthy." She thinks, before recalling "I really wanted to know the gender of the child at the clinic, but I am glad I stayed strong and kept my promise to Kurt. Speaking of which, Kurt is away tonight, Kim, Kate, Lou and I could have a girls night in." 
 
She smiles up at the sky, as the first patches of blue begins to peek through the clouds on the previously dreary day. A gentle breeze tugs the hem of her light blue maternity dress, while her sandals click happily along the street.
 
The clock chimes three, as she steps out of the station, into the bustling street. She doesn’t know why, but she feels uneasy. Maybe it is the magazine vendor, who looked at her for a second too long, or the cab driver who stopped just a hair too quickly, or the delivery van whose driver has gotten into the empty rear of the vehicle.
 
“Probably nothing but, I am not taking a chance. If this is trouble, they have probably staked out my car. I need to evade and evacuate the area.” She thinks, turning away from the station.
 
She feels her unease grow, as she slowly walks past a row of glass and steel buildings, taking note of the reflections she sees. “This is not good. There are at least four men discretely following me.”
 
Sasha slips a hand in her bag, resting her hand on the coiled weapon inside. Confident that with a flick of her wrist she can deploy the whip with it's flexible metal core to it’s full, fifty centimetre length and cause some damage to any who come near her.
 
She huffs to herself “Damn it.”, then turns around heading for the station again.
 
The men that she spotted are not deterred and continue making their way towards her and she begins to question her chosen course of action, “Now that is see them directly, at least two have guns. I am still good, but I can’t risk my baby.”
 
She reaches in her bag again fumbling for her phone and dials the first number in her contact list, but instead of a phone ringing all she hears in her bluetooth earpiece is the pips indicating no signal.
 
 
 
Projecting an aura of calm, Sasha enters a shop and picks up a bottle of water and approaches the till of the small establishment. It is the kind of tiny shop that stocks everything on it’s cramped shelves and never seems to close.
 
The shopkeeper is an older Pakistani man, anywhere between sixty and eighty, wearing a pale blue shirt and woollen cardigan. He turns his kindly gaze to her as she approaches, “Hello dear, do you need anything else?”
 
She pulls out her purse and smiles at the man, quietly saying, “Please, help me.” She says with pleading eyes.
 
The older man narrows his eyes and scans his gaze around the shop, confirming no other customers present. “What is wrong young lady?”
 
“These lads started insulting me on the train and followed me off of it. I am so scared for my baby, please help me.” She says, hating herself for lying to this man.
 
He nods towards the door behind him, “Go out the back. Leave by the back gate and go left down the alley to the taxi rank.”
 
She presses a fifty pound note in his hand and thanks him, before ducking past the man and leaving the shop.
 
 
 
Carl watches the taxi rank from the driver’s seat of his black BMW M5. “A bit of an indulgence, but what can you do?” He muses, smoothing down his waist coat, then folds it and places it back in its' bag. With a casual sweep of his hand, he deposits it on the back seat.
 
“Poseur.” Jim chuckles, from the passenger seat.
 
“I have been stuck in the office since I got here and as we had to come to pick up Fey anyway, I thought I might as well treat myself to a new waistcoat.” Carl says, with a shrug, looking with dismay at the jogging bottoms and t-shirt.
 
“Yeah well, you will look sharp in any case, but, at least wear a shirt under it.” Jim says, before adding. “Poseur.”
 
“You look good in guerrilla chic too.” Carl says, commenting on the tiger stripe camoflaged cargo pants and grey t-shirt his brother has worn since arriving in the country.
 
"Damn straight. I look good in anything." Jim says, before taking a swig of coffee.

"Not quite. I will get you a cocktail dress." Carl chuckles to himself.

Jim kisses his teeth and shrugs, "I have the legs for it, just need a bit of padding up top, to fill it out."

Carl shakes his head then grins, "Dickhead." He checks the time on his phone then slips it into a bracket on the dashboard, “When are the girls getting in?”
 
“Niki and Dani's train has been delayed due to works on the line, they might be at least another hour or so.” Jim says, reviewing the rail network’s website. “However, on the positive side, I will have finished the control software for the Xalt by the time we get back.”
 
“Seriously? That would be awesome.” Carl says, shocked, “I can’t believe we might have them working so soon.”
 
“Well we are the best in the business.” Jim says, with a wicked grin, before something catches his eye, draining all humour from his demeanour. “Shit. Dude, one o’clock, by the Honda, is that Sasha?”
 
Carl glances her way and sees her pattern, “I think it is.” He scrutinises a dozen tendrils from her pattern, to men converging on her position. “She is in trouble.” He announces as he strips off his t-shirt.
 
“What do you mean?” Jim asks, disquieted, undoing his seatbelt and reaching under the seat for a handgun.
 
“There are a bunch of guys converging on her.” Carl says, pulling on a facemask and donning a pair of dark glasses.
 
“I see them.” Jim says focusing his mind on the area, “I can’t unscramble their communications, but it is the same type that T.H.I.S. uses.” He reaches for the door handle.

Carl places a warding hand on his shoulder, "No bruv, she knows your voice. I'll go."

Jim opens his mouth to argue but knows his brother is right, there would be too many problems if they revealed themselves before their siblings joined them.
 
“She actually looks a little worried.” Carl says, considering his options, while he covers his head with a bandana and ties it, then nods to himself. “I am going in. I need you to do something for me.” He says softly, as a pair of black transit vans, pull sharply past them. "Actually, three things."
 
 
 
Commander Vance feels calm in moments like this, before the maelstrom is unleashed. All is still until he gives the word and his people charge forth, sweeping aside all before them. “This will be a good day.” He thinks to himself, “She will come like a meek little kid and then we get her and her sprog for the Eyrie.”
 
He smiles as his second, nods to him and barks, in a neutral home counties accent “Pedestrian units have her surrounded, move in for a clean take.”
 
The driver of this van and the support vehicle, accelerate hard narrowing missing a German sports saloon, as they block off both ends of the taxi rank.
 
Men in plain clothes pour out of the vehicles, weapons drawn and ready, shouting “Get down.”
 
Sasha sees the men and the assembled firepower and thinks to herself, “You could take about half of them, before the bullets start flying.” She wraps her hand around the handle of the flexible whip, but soon relents, “Too many bystanders.”
 
She pulls her hand from the bag and slowly raises her hands. The men advance wordlessly and snatch her bag from her shoulder and begin restraining her. "I can't risk a bloodbath in this place."

Sasha hangs her head, feeling numb as the men pull her wrists behind her back and lock them in place with handcuffs around her wrists and on her arms, above and below her elbows. Tears form in her eyes, when the men  fit the stiff leather hood over her face, plunging her into darkness. The straps on the hood are tightened by hands unseen and when she feels the hood tighten around her face and her jaw forced closed, she mournfully thinks, "While I'm alive, there is a chance."
 


Vance steps out of the rear of his van, dressed in black chinos and turtleneck and approaches slowly, confident that his men can end any threat. He sees his men have her face down on the ground with her arms fully restrained and the muzzle hood locked in place. "No matter what she has done in the past, she is meek as a lamb now." He snorts derisively, under his breath.

He strides over to Sasha and is about to put his hand on her shoulder, when a powerful voice behind him says, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
 
Carl stands as tall as his five feet eight will allow and stares the man he believes to be in charge, dead in the eyes, “Why don't you leave her the fuck alone, fella?.” He commands, putting an edge to his native East London accent.
 
“Move on pal.” Vance says, dismissing Carl with his left hand while resting his right hand on his holstered sidearm.
 
“THIS is my street. THIS is my city. No one moves against my people, without my say so. I will not allow THIS to pass.” Carl says with quiet confidence, emphasising the word this, very slightly.
 
“You are off base friend, walk away.” Vance challenges back appraising man, at least ten years younger than him, daring to challenge him, thinking, "Jogging bottoms, trainers and a tan, no self respect for anything else. Typical gobshite dickhead, who thinks he knows how the world works and he is master of all he surveys."
 
Carl turns to the gathering crowd, holding his open arms out to from his sides, “THIS old boy, thinks he and his mates can kidnap a pregnant woman and get away with it.” He again emphasises the word this.
 
“We have a warrant for her arrest. Back off pal.” Vance says glaring at the local boy, whilst thinking, "He keeps emphasising the word THIS. Does he really know something, or is he just a twat?"
 
“Nah. You ain’t cops.” Carl says, dismissively waving his arms, “You have not identified yourselves as police or read her rights. Besides, the cops round here don't cuff up a suspect like THIS.”
 
Vance notices the crowd start to get agitated and weighs up his options, as the local lad continues, this time addressing the assembled crowd, "Here you have it ladies and gentleman, THIS prick and his raasclart bredrin are living proof that it is possible to conceive a child from anal sex." Vance feels a twitch in his eye, as the crowd laugh. 

Carl jumps onto the bonnet of a nearby car and continues, "These fuckin' arseholes think they have the right to kidnap this pregnant woman from the street, just because their bosses mum got fucked in the arse and he was born nine months later and she is still sore about it."

The men restraining Sasha, feel her squirm under their grip and, redouble their efforts to pin her, with the largest of them casually slapping, the back of her head.

Carl watches the formation of men tighten up slightly and begin to slowly edge backwards to their van, with Sasha restrained at their centre, "If she wasn't pregnant, she would have torn these men limb from limb. Dani and Niki would have torn 'em up too. I can't let them take her." He thinks, cracking his fists and jumping off of the bonnet of the car.

"Screw this." Vance says, drawing and raising his gun, levelling it at Carl's chest. The crowd dive to the ground, cowering before the firearm.

Carl throws his head back and howls with laughter, "HAHAHAHA. Look at the fuckin' big man." He bellows, addressing the crowd, "First he needs a dozen strapped guys to bundle one unarmed pregnant girl. Then he draws down at the first sign of trouble." Carl looks Vance straight in the eyes and says, "THIS will not pass, fella."

None of the crowd move to help, but several pull phones and begin filming. "See THIS here, my peeps got my back and your ugly arses will be a meme, within the hour." Carl rants, gesticulating wildly. At this stage, he and Vance are little more than twenty feet apart. They stare into each others eyes, each waiting for the other to flinch. 

Carl waves his arms aggressively, subtly closing the distance between himself and Vance, shouting, "What? You too much of a pussy to take me on?"

Vance holds the weapon in a two handed grip, maintaining a solid shooting stance, waring of showing signs of weakness. "Cease and desist. 

And then it happens.

[NotSeen]

Now, what was that idiom that I was trying to remember here?
Ah, yes. Shit's about to go down.

[GreyLord]

[mention]wolfman[/mention], you are keeping excitement at a fever pitch. Great writing!

[slackywacky]

With all the exiting stuff [mention]Caesar73[/mention] is posting, I almost forgot there are more writers out there that require my attention. The board is certainly doping pretty good in new and ongoing stories (both M/M and others).

Your story always has this edgy excitement to it. Tangible tension, great characters and frequent updates, what could we ask for more... Oh, I know, bondage, but even that you supply. Great chapter again my friend. And others agree, seeing your 66,000+ views.

[Caesar73]

Dear [mention]wolfman[/mention] your are putting your humble audience through the wringer, Sasha is in danger. Will Carl save her? He will most surely not cease and desist. Another roller coaster you are so good at!

Thank you [mention]slackywacky[/mention] for your praise of my ramblings!

[wolfman]

[mention]wolfman[/mention], you are keeping  excitement at a fever pitch.  Great writing!

Thank you very much for your kind words and support. I am glad you are still enjoying this tale.

Now, what was that idiom that I was trying to remember here?
Ah, yes. Shit's about to go down.

It would appear so, wouldn't it? What was that Kaiser Chiefs song? ‎
‎

Dear [mention]wolfman[/mention] your are putting your humble audience through the wringer, Sasha is in danger. Will Carl save her? He will most surely not cease and desist. Another roller coaster you are so good at!

Thank you [mention]slackywacky[/mention] for your praise of my ramblings!

The roller coaster roars on, ever faster, with more twists and turns to come. Rest assured, more action, adventure, intrigue and maybe darkness will come soon. 

By the way, your story is incredible. Don't ever doubt that.

With all the exiting stuff [mention]Caesar73[/mention] is posting, I almost forgot there are more writers out there that require my attention. The board is certainly doping pretty good in new and ongoing stories (both M/M and others).

Your story always has this edgy excitement to it. Tangible tension, great characters and frequent updates, what could we ask for more... Oh, I know, bondage, but even that you supply. Great chapter again my friend. And others agree, seeing your 66,000+ views.

I read the works of many authors on here, both new and old and never fail to be surprised and enthralled by the quality I see.‎
‎
More than at any other time, this board shows a great many incredible authors and stories that inspire me to try harder, write better and give my readers more. I am not content to tread the paths, I have walked before, I seek to constantly change things up for my readers and for myself.‎

‎Thank you to everyone who reads this and thank you to every author on here who pushes me to be better.

[NotSeen]

Now, what was that idiom that I was trying to remember here?
Ah, yes. Shit's about to go down.

It would appear so, wouldn't it? What was that Kaiser Chiefs song? ‎

You wouldn't, by any chance, mean 'I Predict A Riot'?

Bring. It.

[wolfman]

It only takes something small, but that is always the way.



A lone tin of baked beans sails over the heads of the crowd, in a perfect arc, bouncing harmlessly off of Vance's chest. There is no injury, but the effect is electric, galvanising the crowd into action. 

Cries of "Leave her alone.", "Get the fuck outta here.", "Fascists." and others ring out across the street from the large crowd until a cry from the back in a deep Kenyan accent calls, "Get 'em."

The crowd, scrambles to its feet and begins throwing any items to hand, graying and hurling abuse at the T.H.I.S. team. The well trained troops, pull batons and form an even tighter circle around their prisoner. Vance steps forward to address the crowd, taking his eyes off of Carl for a moment. 

Carl steps forward and to his left, placing his right hand under the hilt of the pistol. With savage speed, he chops down across Vance's elbows and shoves up with his right hand. Unable to react, quickly enough, Vance roars with pain as the pistol smashes his nose to a bloody pulp.

Carl brings his right arm across his body, then unleashes a powerful right backfist, followed by a left hook to the mans left cheek, swiftly followed by a devastating left backfist, right hook to his left cheek.

Vance is dazed, raising his hands to protect his face from further assault. Carl moves in and sweeps low, with a hammer blow to the mans groin, doubling his foe over in pain. Carl grabs the back of his head and smashes his face into his knee, dropping him unconscious to the ground.

His men turn to aid him, but the distraction is all the crowd needs and the hapless plain clothes men crumble under the weight of numbers.

In the blink of an eye, the crown surges forward and begins assailing the plain clothes men with boots and fists and anything else to hand. The screams and cries from the crown reach a crescendo and the pitched battle escalates as debris and missiles start to fly. The plain clothes men try to form up into a protective formation, but it soon collapses as the crowd break through with sheer weight of numbers.

Two of the men open fire on the crown, only to be pounced upon like rabbits before a pack of wolves. The noise of the battle almost drowns out the approaching police sirens. In the confusion of the melee and with no uniforms, the sides turn on each other and shop windows shatter all around, from hurled projectiles.



Sasha screams into the mask hearing the commotion around her and feeling grasping hands on her body, she tries to curl up into a ball to protect her stomach, but the hands on her are too strong. She flinches hearing the sound of a shop window shattering almost right on top of her.

"This is not the end. I won't die like this." She thinks, trying not to cry, as involuntary flashes of Kurt, Kim and the scan of her unborn child flash before her eyes.

She squirms against the strong man, freeing herself momentarily from his grasp and kicking out hard. A grunt of pain from the man, is her reward, as the wild two footed kick connects, but does not stop the man. She bucks and twists, trying to escape the steel grasp of the man that has just picked her up.

Sasha feels her body pressed tightly to his chest and feels jerks from his body which she can only guess are blows from the baying mob, as he forces his way through them. Testing her restraints hopelessly, she wonders,, "What the hell is happening? Where are they taking me?"

She feels herself loaded into a car seat with unexpected care and a seat belt clipped around her. She ducks at the sound of a gunshot and a moment later, flinchies when a loud voice near her ear shouts, "Drive." In a thick East London accent.



The vehicle takes off like a stabbed rat, streaking away from the station. Bystanders, vehicles and buildings blast by in a flash. As the vehicle races away, every light turns green to bid them pass and turns red in their wake to send the city into chaos. 

Traffic cameras around the city show a dozen identical vehicles race around the city. But they don't see the one that enters a car wash, black and leaves it silver. The silver vehicle, turns to leave the city at a much more discrete pace.



Somewhere nearby a voice with an East London accent speaks soflty, "Shhhhh, be calm, all is well. We are not going to hurt you. Let's get this horrible thing off of you."

Sasha grunts slightly, feeling fumbling at the back of her head. The pressure on her jaw slowly eases and she blinks rapidly adjusting to the light as it is removed. She stares in silence, at the man next to her, with jogging bottoms and a sweat slicked heavily muscled naked torso. Her eyes flick around the vehicles interior, seeking any clues as to whom her captors are.

The strange man next to her wears a facemask, bandana and sunglasses to hide his face. He holds his open hands in front of him and speaks softly, "Miss Turner, you are safe."

Sasha shudders a little and her mind is throw into turmoil, "Who are you?"

The man exchanges a look with the driver in the rearview mirror, then turns to her, "We are Minh."

She looks at him skeptically, "Like from the news. The same Minh that tore up Cambodia?"

"We are everywhere." He says, trying to keep a straight face under his mask.

"Ok..... Minh. Let's say for a moment, that I believe you. What do you want with me?" Sasha says, trying to get a read on the man, "He obviously works out and is in excellent shape. The callouses on his hands suggests that he is a professional craftsman, but the way he carries himself says soldier, or at least someone trained in the arts of war to a high standard. He looks hurt too."

"We want to get you home and warn you about THIS." The man says, gravely.

"This? This what?" Sasha says, feeling frustrated.

The man holds up his hands, "My apologies. THIS, or Trans Human Intervention Section of the United Nations. Indications are that they have been trying to recruit or neutralise anyone with abilities beyond the norm and you most certainly qualify."

"Are you actually joking?" Sasha says, incredulous. "This has to be the most elaborate wind up ever."

The man subtly shakes his head, "I am deadly serious, Miss Turner. You need to warn your father and aunt and keep everyone you love, safe."

"Why don't you warn them?" Sasha asks, with a raised eyebrow.

"It's complicated." The man says, evasively.

"It always is." Sasha snorts, derisively. 



She notes that the vehicle has raced out of the city and is blasting along country roads. She twists against the cuffs pinning her arms painfully, "Any chance that you might remove the jewellry?"

"The jewellry?" The man asks confused for a moment, before comprehending, "Oh sure. Please turn towards the window."

Sasha complies, staring out of the window. Unseen behind her the man on the back seat, gives a signal to the driver, who nods in return, as the handcuffs unlock themselves one by one. Sasha grunts in relief as the tension is relaxed on her arms.



She turns back to him, rubbing her wrists and arms, "Thank you, Minh." She says softly, briefly considering, using a pair of handcuffs as a knuckleduster and rapidly punching the man on the back seat in the throat, then using the chain to choke out the driver.

Sasha lets the thought go, realising that the vehicle has just passed through the gates of the Nirvana training academy. "What are we doing here?" She asks, nervously but hopeful.

"Dropping you off safely, love." The man, says, then internally berates himself for the over familiarity.

"Thank you." She says, softly.

"You are most welcome." He says as the vehicle glides to a halt outside her homes front door, glad she seemed to miss his slip.

"I'm serious, thank you for saving my life. I have no idea what would have happened if you hadn't been there." Sasha says, trying once more to get a read on him. "His body language is odd, for all his bravado, he is nervous. I am sure he has been hurt somehow too."

"You never need to worry about thanking us." The man says, reaching forward to retrieve her bag from the front seat. "This will not be our last meeting. I am sorry for the secrecy. Next time will be different. I give you my word."

She takes the bag from him with a thank you. She turns to leave the vehicle, but the man gently touches her arm. She feels a gentle warmth in his touch, but not a sexuality and turns to him. "This is so strange, why do I feel so safe with these two?"

"Please take this." He says holding up a high capacity memory stick, "It contains copies of all the information we have gathered regarding THIS. Please examine it as we are doing. Soon, we will meet again."

She accepts the drive and slips it into her bag, then grasps the door handle, "Thank you, for everything. Until we meet again."



Jim guns the engine and tears away from Sasha's house, watching her in the rear view mirror, "We should have just told her." He says over his shoulder.

Carl shakes his head, "It wouldn't have been right without everyone there. Can you pass me a tampon from the glove box?"

Jim nods to himself, "Yeah, you're right. I guess." He retreives and passes his brother a tampon.

"Cheers mate." Carl says, using the applicator to slip the tampon into the bullet wound, just right of his spine. Jim tosses back a small roll of medical tape and Carl seals the wound, wrapping tape around his body. "That will do till later." He wipes up the blood on the back seat with his t-shirt and then dons his new waistcoat. "I'll clean the seat properly, in the morning."

Carl scrambles into the front of the vehicle and gets into the passenger seat. "On the subject of everyone else, we need to check in. Seems THIS are ramping up operations."

"I have been making calls. Dani and Niki are still on course to be back tomorrow." Jim says, screeching out of the gate and heading west, "I have alerted Fey, she is going full Unseen and will be with us when she can."

Carl glances at his brother, sensing that something is amiss, "What of Hel?"

"It just goes to voicemail." Jim says, feeling hollow.

"Shit." Carl says, squinting, "Can you keep trying?"

"On it." Jim says, focusing for a moment.



Dani ducks into a chemist on an Edinburgh side street, whilst Nikita watches the street from an alley across the road.  Dani quickly scans the hair dye on sale and selects a vibrant honey blonde. "Good." She thinks reading the detail on the box, "It will wash out quick."

She also picks up a small selection of makeup and heads to the checkout. She pulls the cap down shielding her face from the overhead security camera, when she approaches the checkout. The checkout operator takes the money and returns Dani's change, barely registering that she is there.

Nikita wearing the appearance of Roberts flicks the stub of her cigarette away, as Dani exits the shop and heads north. Dani doesn't have to look to see that Nikita is shadowing her from the other side of the street, as she slowly meanders along. Both women surreptitiously, glance in the windows of car and the shops they pass, confirming no one is following them. 



They walk at different speeds alternating the lead and the tail, between them as they traverse the high street, occasionally catching glimpses of Edinburgh Castle on their roundabout path. Nikita breaks away from the high street and enters a leisure centre, heading straight for the changing rooms. 

Sensing that the women's changing rooms are empty, she slips inside and takes onher natural appearance. Quickly she slips out of her jeans and tank top, stuffing them into a collapsible holdall she pulls from her backpack. With practiced efficiency, she plucks a tight white t-shirt and a tartan mini skirt from the bag and slips them on. A moment later she is slipping on a pair of black kitten heels and preparing to head out.

Less than two minutes after entering the changing rooms, she strides out of the door her disguise complete. 

The receptionist on the front desk, calls to her as she reaches the door, "Evening, did you enjoy your workout?"

Nikita turns, responds, "Yes thank you, I feel like a new woman."



Dani slips unseen into the service entrance of a hotel stalking the halls evading cameras where possible, and bowing her head into the shadow of her cap when she can't. She scans the corridor when she spots an open room door.

She slips inside and silently closes the door. Quickly she slips out of her clothes and retrieves the dye from her bag and enters the bathroom. 

Five minutes later, her white hair is now covered in hair dye and she is plugging in the hair dryer. Dani checks the time and nods to herself, "Ok good, need another few minutes before I can rinse and dry."

She takes out a bag of clothes that Nikita chose for her and empties it onto the bed, with a look of dismay, "Damn it, Niki. Why?" She curses under her breath with a chuckle, "Payback for the burlesque outfit, in downtown Berlin?"



Nikita waits in the hotel's lobby, still disguised as Roberts, with a machiatto. She glances up at the clock and begins to worry, "She is running late."

Just as Nikita is about to rise from her seat, the lift pings softly and the doors open. Dani emerges nervously, taking tentative steps into the lobby. Unaccustomed to walking in heels, her steps are faltering at first, but growing more confident with each step. "Dani I hate you right now." She thinks glancing down at the three inch spike heels on the calf length leather boots she wears.

The ultra snug black pencil skirt hugs her legs, as she walks with a whisper of silk from her stockings and a click from her heels. Her low cut electric blue blouse, ripples against her skin as she crosses the lobby.

Blood red lipstick, freshly dyed blonde hair and minimal makeup, complete the ensemble. Nikita rises from her seat to greet Dani, with a gentle peck on the cheek.

Dani whispers softly into Nikita's ear, "I look like a tart, I will find a way to permanently kill you for this. Why are we doing this again?" Dani asks, as she slips her arm through the crook of her sisters arm.

"If anyone is looking for us, we blend better this way." Nikita explains.

"Blend in? I am on display. Just crossing the lobby, I have noticed three guys heads swaying in time with my ass and those who weren't staring at my ass, were staring at my boobs." Dani says, in quiet indignance.

"I had the same thing, but no one has seen our faces." Nikita says, with a wicked smile, walking towards the main doors. 

"Urgh. Fine. I will have to give you that one." Dani says, with a smile she cannot hide as she subtly shakes her head.

"So we have camoflage sorted, what do you reckon on transport?" Dani says, emerging into the street.

Nikita steps out into the cool evening air and lights a cigarette, offering the pack to her sister, "I have no idea. Hitchhike perhaps?"

"I am not hitching dressed like this." Dani says, lighting a cigarette, "Actually, I do have an idea." She pulls out her phone with a glint in her eye. "If this works, we will be back by dawn."