slackywacky wrote: ↑
Things are going to be a bit intense (again). Great chapter.
[mention]slackywacky[/mention] I am glad you enjoyed it. Well it is one day later, at least I gave them a day off, can't have them relaxing too much.
slackywacky wrote:Things are going to be a bit intense (again). Great chapter.
Indeed they are! That was a great TUG scene with Kim. Then you moved on ending with more of the ever building suspense due to Hel and now the search for Hel. I wish that I had more skill with words so that I could adequately describe just how good this story is.
[mention]GreyLord[/mention] Thank you very much for your kind words, I really appreciate it. Like in life, troubles often all come at once. Rarely is there just one problem to face, it is about the balance, focus on one thing and let another bubble away till you can deal with it. Same for this tale. There is always something.
OldTUGger wrote: ↑
I've got to admit, you have a special gift for keeping your readers on tenterhooks. Well done, sir!
[mention]OldTUGger[/mention] Thank you kindly, I have tried to create characters that readers will care about. So that there feels like there are stakes when something happens.
Caesar73 wrote: ↑
The Scene with Kim and the Conversation with Sasha? These are scenes which I always admire [mention]wolfman[/mention] !
[mention]Caesar73[/mention] I must admit I like the quiet scenes as much as the big action scene, I feel they add so much to the characters. I like this scene because there is so much Kim needs to say, but can't because of her own actions.
Charon waits motionless, camoflaged and ready. Just as he has for the last few months waiting for the signal to engage. From his position he can see the whole of the site laid out before him, watching as he has for so long.
His eyes are like those of a hawk, he needs no binoculars to see the faces of those far away or to read their lips. "They look so happy at play." He thinks, watching closely, "If the order ever comes, I will execute it with regret, they have made me smile so many times."
He unloads his M2 machine gun and lays the ammunition belt down before him. With bony fingers he dismantles the weapon and then begin to clean it. "This is my meditation, in these moments, I find peace." He whispers, with solemn reverence, repeating it like a mantra, while he works.
He takes his time, cleaning and oiling the weapon so that when the time comes, it will not fail him. "This is an easy job, The target is a control, left to live a life and see what they do. While the others are kept out of the way.Ï shudder when I thiknk what has been done to them and give thanks that my ward has been spared." Charon thinks, as he finishes assembling his weapon and casts his gaze back to his target.
Laughter he cannot hear taunts him. At this range, the sound does not reach his ears, but he knows it is there. "My eyes bring them so close, that it is like I could reach out and touch them." He sighs, sadly, "I wish I could meet them just once, to thank them for bringing light into my life."
Charon thinks of his life before, "I wasted so much of my life. Time and again, I have chosen the wrong path in life and this is my reward. A half existence, watching a child for signs of something out of the ordinary. No one cares what I do, as long as the reports are on time."
A soft ping from his phone drags him from his thoughts making him wonder, "A bit early for check in."
His blood runs cold, as he reads the message. He turns to the family and his vision blurs with tears.
Kim in a one piece swimsuit , dives into the pool enjoying the feel of the cool water against her skin. She surfaces and floats on the surface allowing the water to carry her, she closes her eyes and reflects on the day so far, "This is the best day ever. We have done so much cool stuff. Raced horses, done Tai Chi and they let me spar with them. Best of all, Dani said she is proud of me."
Sasha, in a white bikini tops and shorts, to leave her bump free, watches her step daughter and smiles, "She is such a wonderful young woman. She is much braver than I at that age. I am so proud of how despite everything, she just gets on with it."
Dani in a black bikini, with thong bottoms, extends a hand down to Kim and helps her out of the pool. "Are you having a good day?"
"Best day ever Angel." She says, as Dani sets her down on the poolside. She begins to towel dry her hair and looks around, trying to work out where Nikita is, "Did Niki go?" She asks, slightly hurt that she would go without saying goodbye.
"Nah." Dani says, pointing to the centre of the pool, "She is just having a nap."
"She'll drown." Kim says, fearfully casting her towel aside and preparing to jump in.
Dani gently takes her arm and shakes her head, "Your auntie Niki is ok. She can stay underwater a really long time."
Kim eyes her suspiciously, "Really?"
"Yeah, she is part fish." Dani says with a knowing smile.
Kim thinks for a moment, then nods, "Makes sense, she is beautiful like a mermaid."
Dani's heart melts a little, "Be sure to tell her that, it will make her day."
A movement in the corner of Dani's eye, draws her gaze out of the window. Time seems to stand still and she sees everything all at once. The sun streaming through the windows. The leaves of the trees gently teased by the warm breeze. Birds chasing insects in the golden light of the afternoon. A pair of predator drones launching missiles at the apex of their turn.
She feels like she is moving through treacle, screaming, "Take cover."
Sasha and Louise look around confused, unsure which way to move. Dani reaches for Louise's shoulder and begins pulling her towards the water.
Kim looks where Dani was staring and sees the missiles streaking towards them. Without thinking she leaps towards Sasha.
Louise wearing a pair of dark green shorts and t-shirt, cries out in surprise as Dani shoves her into the water. She lands hitting the water on her back and going under. With stinging eyes, she watches as the air about the water turns orange.
Natalie Church's body shakes with effort and drips with sweat, from holding herself upright and taking the glass of water from her table. It may only be water, but it takes like champagne to the DEA agent. "Best drink ever." She lays back in the bed and stares up at the ceiling, letting her arms rest on the cool clean sheets. Her eyes moisten, thinking of the past few days and the journey she had taken to get here.
She recalls the fear and pain of her escape from Cambodia and feels humbled, "A few days ago I was chained up and helpless, with no tendons in my arms and legs begging, for death. Then he came." Natalie thinks about the moment that her saviour removed her blindfold and revealed his chiselled torso to her, but kept his face tantalisingly hidden.
Natalie takes a pillow from her bed and hugs it, bringing forth the feeling of utter safety in his arms, while he spoke in his deep, strong voice to her, as if they were the only people in the world. She sighs almost imagining his scent.
She begins to cry thinking of that last embrace, "In those last moments with him, I shamed myself. All I could think was that my life as I remembered it was over. Then i felt him slowly strangle me until I blacked out." She thinks back to the events following her rescue, "Moses was so sweet and got me back to the block house. All I could do was cry, fearing never being able to use my arms or legs again. When I was able to wipe my eye with the back of my arm, I cried even more."
"He rallied all the guys and they escorted me to the airport and onto the plane. The car ride was awful, it felt like we were going to get ambushed at any moment." She struggles and puts down the glass and then flops back on the bed, "All the way along, Black kept telling me that there is an agreement with Nirvana group to give free treatment to any agent injured in the line of duty. He had made a call and they would be able to help."
She recalls at the time she couldn't allow herself to believe it, but sure enough, the plane was waiting at the airport and they came here with a refuel in Dubai. Moses stayed by her side every step of the way, watching over her like a concerned father. Not leaving her until, she was safely here in her room and discussing with the doctors how they were going to get her back onto her feet.
Somehow against all the odds, her she was, in Nirvana Hertfordshire, daring to hope of a better future.
Ali Mitchum laughs as her brother tickles her stomach. The scent of charred meat from the barbeque tended by Alex Mitchum, fills the air on this early summer afternoon. Rachel Mitchum watches from the swing seat and laughs along with her children.
Rachel sips a glass of wine and counts her blessings on this wonderful day. She looks up as a shadow passes over her, seeing nothing but hearing the roar of a jet engine somewhere in the sky.
The family look up hearing a loud "FSSSSSHHHK." None of them see the hellfire missile streak from the wing of the circling Predator drone.
Rachel and Ali scream at the impossibly huge man who has leapt the fence and stands facing away from the house. Their screams are drowned out by the thunderous roar of the fifty calibre machine gun, be wields on a steadycam style mount, clamped to his back.
The barrage of heavy ammunition detonates the missile a safe distance from the house. But the man is not satisfied, his eyes scan the skies soon finding his target and he opens fire again, aiming six lengths in front of the target. The Predator attack drone's pilot cannot pull up in time and the aircraft is riddled with gunfire.
The man turns back to the family, as the drone crashes in the distance with a muffled crump, slowly beginning to walk towards them.
Nikita is woken by the pressure wave and launches herself from the water, landing in a nightmare. The once tranquil scene is transformed with scorched stone, walls and floor glistening with metal shards. Acrid smoke fills the air obscuring her vision, but her lifesense still works unimpaired and it shows her a reason to cry.
She stands over Sasha gazing down. Her sister looks almost serene, save for the cut on her cheek. Nikita's eyes sting with tears.
Sasha wakes with a gasp, seeing Nikita standing over her, "What happened?" She follows Nikita's gaze with a feeling of dread, looking down at her stomach.
Kim lays across Sasha's stomach, arms locked around her. The young womans back in more flesh than skin, flayed by uncountable fragments from bearing the brunt of one of the missiles detonations. She weakly opens her eyes and stares up at Sasha, "Mummy, I can't feel anything."
Nikita sees the young womans lifepulse and her heart breaks, "Multiple shattered vertibrae, spinal cord severed in a dozen places, a punctured lung and damage to her heart, liver and kidneys."
She lays her hand on Kim's back and prepares to take her injuries into herself, when she feels a cool hand on her arm. She turns to meet Dani's gaze and whispers, "It is the only way."
Dani squeezes Nikita's arm with her right hand, her left hand and arm lay in a shredded mass, some distance away. Her face is pale from shock, but she knows her own mind, "We need you on your feet, if you do this, you will be out of action for too long. Put Kim's injuries into me. Save her, then save everyone."
"No I can't...." Nikita says, knowing what will happen to Dani.
Kim hangs limp in Sasha's arms, as she tries to comfort her, "Everything will be alright darling." She looks up with pleading eyes at Nikita.
"Mummy, why can't I see?" Kim says, in a small weak voice.
"Stop pissing about Niki. There is no time to argue. I love you all very much." Dani say's coughing up blood, "Get it done."
Nikita places a hand on Kim's shoulder and gently takes Dani's hand. Trying not to think about what she is doing, she sweeps the marks from Kim's injuries into Dani's lifepulse. Sasha screams watching Dani go limp, dropping back ito the water.
Kim gasps and squeezes Sasha as tightly as her recovering body will allow. Sasha coos softly, rocking the young woman back and forth "Shhhh, it's alright, everything is going to be ok."
Nikita closes her eyes and swallows hard, feeling Dani's lifepulse fade into nothing, beneath the pools surface. For a moment, there is nothing else, as she watches the life blink out. She tries to reach out to keep Dani alive, but she is too late. The gentle touch of Louise's hand on her shoulder is enough to spur her into action. "Focus on the living, it is what Dani would have wanted." she decides, moving quickly.
Ali screams, paralysed in terror as the man walks towards her and begins to cry as he speaks, in a synthesised voice, "Ali Mitchum, you are in danger, you must flee."
"Fuck you mate, who are you?" Alex says squaring up to the man.
Alex is six foot tall and built like a rugby player, but the seven foot behemoth before him, dwarfs him. He steps towards Alex with a hiss of hydraulics. Alex takes a moment to make sense of the figure who is less man than machine before him. "What is going on?" He asks, knowing that this man will pulverise him, without breaking a sweat if he so chooses.
"T.H.I.S. Has initiated the Final Riposte protocol. Should the organisation be in a position to be closed down, all tracked targets are to be eliminated, to ensure that they will never pose a threat to humanity." The stranger says, no emotion betrayed by his mechanical voice.
"Dad? What is he saying?" Ali asks, tearfully.
The cyborg, turns to her and gives a smile that doesn't reach his eyes, showing metal teeth, "There is a genetic legacy within you that makes you very special. There are those who view you as dangerous. I have been watching you for some time to confirm if this is true. I do not believe you to be dangerous, but I do believe you are special."
Despite his mechanical features the man smiles with something approaching genuine warmth, "You can change the world. I have seen that for some time. When the order came for me to pull back to allow the drone to do it's work, I could not obey."
His features darken as his smile fades. He turns to Alex, "There is no time. Men are coming. Take your family and hide in the basement. I will protect you. When the dust settles, go to the Nirvana academy in Hertfordshire, ask for Sasha Smith. She will be able to protect you."
Alex stands for a moment, trying to process everything. "Who are you?"
"I am Charon." The man says, in his eerie synthetic voice. He listens to the sound of men disembarking from nearby vehicles and sprinting towards them and thinks to himself, "In life I had the blackest soul of any man, but those who made me like this destroyed that soul. It is time to earn a new soul, through good deeds."
He throws a pistol to Alex, "Get your family inside. Stay hidden, I will deal with those who would do you harm."
Nikita shoves everyone forward, through the entrance of the concealed panic room under the pool house. Once everyone is in, she slams the button to her right sealing the door from the inside. "The walls and door of this are one foot this reinforced steel. We have air, water and food and this can only be opened from in here. We are safe."
"Does anyone know what the hell is going on?" Sasha asks, holding Kim tightly, refusing to let her go.
"No idea what just happened." Nikita says with a shake of her head, "They seemed to come out of nowhere."
"They hit us hard, I would expect ground forces to sweep and clear." Louise says, shaking her head.
"What the hell did they hit us with?" Sasha asks, terrified of releasing Kim from her embrace.
"Two predator drones, with missiles." Kim says, prompting surprised looks from those around her, "I recognised the silhouette from Dani's book. Oh no Dani!" Kim looks around in a panic, "Where is Dani?" She cries.
Nikita composes herself, and turns to the young woman, "She has gone away again."
Dani lays at the bottom of the pool, feeling the last of her life slip away. Her life flashes before her eyes, every moment, good and bad and anyone watching would see her smile. "It's been a long road, but a hell of a journey." She reflects with her last thoughts.
She reaches out with her soul towards the light, but hesistates, feeling the void that used to be the Zombie within her, pulsate and call to her.
Unsure if it is a dream she reaches into that other part of herself and feels how comfortable and familiar it feels and yet, it is different in some fundamental way.
At the point of death and for the first time in her life, Dani feels no pain, no fear and no doubt. She embraces that empty part of her that used to be a Zombie, feeling completely at peace.
In that moment, the world falls away and Nothing happens.
Last edited by wolfman2 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
Dear [mention]wolfman[/mention] I´m lost for words, truly lost. The End of this Chapter was so heartbreaking. What a Journey we had with Dani and now - the End. I admire your courage: It must be incredibly difficult to Part from a character to whom as a writer has developed a deep connection. To sever that bond ... I bow down in admiration.
[mention]wolfman[/mention], I cannot begin to express the raging emotions that swept through me as I read this chapter. It is just too overwhelming. I can do nothing more than to say that I salute your skills in bringing this story to us. Thank you.
Kate and Steve both jump up from their seats a the same moment feeling the alarm signal from their phones.
"What's wrong?" Carl asks seeing their obvious discomfort.
"We have received an alert confirming that there is active signal jamming at Nirvana Hertfordshire." Kate explains, checking her phone.
Steve tries a few calls and looks up at Kate, "All lines are dead, mobiles out of range. If it were mobiles only I could accept that, but landlines are down as well. I think we need to get back."
Kate nods, grabbing her jacket from the back of her chair, on the way to the door. "We are about half an hour away, I might be able to get us there in a little under depending on traffic."
"They aren't fully untested but they are quicker." Carl says under his breath, thinking aloud.
"Sorry?" Steve asks, not quite catching what his son said.
"I can get us there faster." Carl admits, weighing up the options, before nodding decisively, "Come with me."
"Lead on." Steve says, extending his arm towards the door.
Carl runs through the corridors with Kate and Steve in tow and finally comes to a stop in front of a non descript black door. With a flash of his key card the lock clicks and he charges inside.
A scent of fuel lingers in the air of the large darkened workshop. Carl strides across the open floor and pulls his phone, rapidly typing commands, culminating in a loud pop and a grinding of gears.
Steve and Kate look up watching the roof open, in graceful majesty. Puzzled they return their gaze to Carl. More importantly to the fleet of vehicles he stands beside.
The dozen bikes, crouch like a pack of hungry wolves ready to pounce. Sleek racing motorcycle style body, trimmed with radar absorbent and refractive panels. The body is mounted on a trim base chassis, which extends out of the sides of the bikes body. Six thrust vectoring nozzles positioned around each vehicle for optimal multi direction performance. From the front, they look like an upside-down T, but from underneath it looks like a hexagon, with one point extending out slightly further than the others.
"Is that what I think it is, son?" Steve says approaching the nearest and stroking it's bodywork gently.
"Presenting the Xalt. All fuselage and body made with high tensile carbon fibre with a thin kevlar undershell for strength. Radar defeating and armed." Carl explains, with a hint of pride, passing each of them a flight suit. What follows is the fastest clothes change, that they have ever done.
Kate reverentially strokes a jet bikes body and climbs into the seat. "Ride position is good, very comfortable. All controls seems easy to get to." She picks up the helmet mounted on the handlebars, and slips it on. The heads up display bursts into life, showing fuel, airspeed indicators and crosshairs.
"When airborne a turret will deploy from underneath which will engage any incoming projectiles, a second turret from the front is linked to your helmet and will fire where you target, with the helmet." Carl says, visually confirming that his father is ok with his bike. "Throttle is same as a bike, pull back in handlebars to climb, push forward to dive and tilt your body to turn, the bikes software will do the rest."
A moment later, the workshop is filled with a roar and the Xalt's rise like smoke out of the building. "Gently does it, pull back gently on the handlebars and give it a little gas and we are off." Carl says, monitoring the performance of the other bikes.
Steve and Kate giggle like school children and pull back hard on the bars and go full throttle. The Xalt's streak skyward hitting three hundred and twentty miles per hour in under four seconds. Carl shakes his head in dismay, "This can only end well."
Fey hears the explosions and sits up, as quickly as her ruined body will allow. She grabs her phone, quickly discarding it when she realises that she has no signal. Then she sees the silhouette of the attack drone and knows she cannot wait here.
She rips off the gown and slips a t-shirt on, covering her scarred and tender back. With some effort she managed to pull the shorts up her part flayed legs over the bandages.
With the aid of crutches, she approaches the door, determined to help any way she can. Fey freezes hearing the familiar pop of silenced gun fire down the corridor. "The explosion could be a distraction to hit or take someone here. No one knows who I really am, so it has to be another patient. I can't call anyone, so it is down to me."
Vance smiles to himself, "Just can't keep a good man down." He thiks as he double taps a nurse who dares to get in his way. Unlike his men, he is dressed in full tactical plate armour, looking for all the world like a black preying mantis.
His men fan out around him covering all of the approaches to the side room. He kicks in the door to see the room empty and sweeps in, silenced handgun raise and ready. Three steps left and the bathroom door is taken off of it's hinges with the mans shoulder. Five steps right and he flips the bed , showing nothing underneath.
He sighs and shakes his head, "Should have done this first." He thinks, while thrusting his fist through the warbrobe door and grabbing a handful of Natalie Church's hair.
She begs and screams as he roughly pulls her out of the wardrobe and throws her to the ground.
"Why?" She wails feeling her wrists roughly pulled behind her and handcuffed brutally tightly.
"You saw Minh up close, you will tell us all you know, so we can catch him." Vance hisses, maliciously.
"Fuck you, I will give you nothing." She says, spitting at him.
He wipes her spittle off of his faceplate and rises to his feet. Slowly. Deliberately. He reviews her chart. "Says here your arms and legs are in a bad way, but your face and body is basically untouched. Let's see what we can do about that."
With a vice like grip he pulls her to her feet, with a hand around her throat.
"I am sorry sir. There has been an incident in the infirmary, we are awaiting a tactical unit." The Nirvana security officer says, with a hand resting on his holstered weapon.
"My sister is in there, I am going in." Jim says firmly.
Another officer joins the first and reaffirms, "Sorry sir, you can't go in there."
Jim takes a step forward and tenses. The two officers reach for him, to subdue him and as they try to lay a hand on him, he sweeps his forearms in all directions intercepting their efforts. Time and again his forearms strike the inside of their wrists as they fight to stop him. They don't realise the trap until it is too late.
Recovering from one sweep, Jim snatches the cuffs off of one of the officers belt and snaps one of the cuffs around the other officers wrist. He grips the other cuff and brings the officers arm up and around, locking the cuff onto the first officers wrist. A moment later the officers stand back to back with their wrists locked to each other.
Jim hefts their sidearms with a genuine, "Thank you.", while he kicks open the door and charges inside.
Emerging like ghosts from the mists, a dozen men in composite plate armour silently creep through the smoke filled pool area with carbines raised, seeking the figures that were here when the missiles hit. "No bodies, but I see blood." One of their radios crackles.
The men spread out, seeking further signs of blood, "Got a trail." One of them calls out and waves.
The team converge on his position, the follow in na rapidly advancing snake formation, tracking the blood until it stops dead at a wall.
The lead men open fire at the wall with shotguns, while the others cover them. When the dust clears, the men see the formerly concealed door of the panic room.
The team falls back and allows one of their number to approach the door unimpeded. He pulls a powerful drill with a 5mm diamond tip and and begins to get to work on the door.
The noise inside the metal panic room is deafening. Kim is curled up on the floor with her hands over her ears. Nikita places a gentle hand on her shoulder to comfort her, before signing to Louise and Sasha, "Is there another way out of here?"
Louise signs back, "No." Then she opens a hatch in the floor and begins passing out handguns, from the concealed weapons locker.
Nikita splits her arms into two tentacles each and takes four handguns, then makes her skin jet black.
Sasha stands in open mouthed shock. "Oh my God, what happened to you in Cambodia?"
Nikita raises the four handguns, ready for action and simply mouths, "I found new ways to use my powers."
Sasha feels Kim edge past her and reach into the weapon locker. She places a hand on her step daughters arm, "What are you doing?" she asks, gently.
"I want a gun." Kim says, firmly, "I am tired of being a helpless victim. They are coming for us all. I want a chance to protect myself."
Sasha hesitates and considers the arguement, before pulling a Walther PPK and handing it to Kim. Before she can say a word, Kim ejects and checks the magazine and slams it back in place before snapping back to slide.
They ready themselves, as the drill penetrates the door, poking through briefly before being withdrawn. Louise nods to the others, hitting the door release. The door stays where it is. Louise tries pushing the door, but to no avaiĺ. "Shit, it wont budge." She whispers.
"Look." Sasha says softly, whilst nodding towards the hole, where a small device is beginning to emerge, it looks like a black shiny cylinder, only marginally smaller than the hole, the drill made. "Camera."
"Very good." A voice reverberates, "We see you, we see the little girl hiding behind the monster and the two pregnant women."
"They must have attached something to the door, that allows them to use it like a large speaker." Nikita thinks, while the voice continues.
"You have no way out and you have more to lose than we do." The voice resumes, "We control the door. It opens at our behest. You have a choice, we keep it closed and pump in Carbon Dioxide and you die, or you lock the monster in that weapons locker and restrain the two mothers to be hand and foot. We will take our target and leave the rest unharmed. Make your choice, you have until we drill a larger hole to decide."
Sasha, Kate and Nikita exchange a look of trepidation, realising how limited their options are.
Fey crawls on her stomach keeping out of the eyeline of the men surrounding the room at the end of the corridor, inch by inch. she gets closer to the nearest of them. "This is stupid, I am too injured to stealth them all." She thinks, nervously, "I will have to drop one and then take the rest with his gun, before they notice me."
She freezes, almost feeling the eyes of one of the men, bore into her. She holds her breath and waits for him to look away. Inch by inch, she draws closer, silently praying that she is not to late to stop the beating of the poor woman in the side room.
"Now or Never." She braces herself and slips her hand around the nearest man ankle and forces him to blackout. She rolls to the side and catches his silenced handgun as he falls. She rolls facedown on the floor, with the weapon in her outstretched arms.
The other men begin to turn, hearing him fall. Fey squeezes off a brace of shots, catching one of the men high on his body. She rolls left quickly, hadgun blazing, narrowly avoiding the line of bullets pinging off of the floor in her wake, until she rolls through the door to another side room.
She struggles to her feet, gun in hand, "Four shots left." She thinks, moving too slowly towards the wall to the right of the door. Two men burst in weapons raised and the door hits her hard, sending her sprawling. She blindly scrambles for the gun, as it skitters across the polished stone floor.
Fey curls up into a ball to protect her vital organs, when the blows start to rain down.
"Takes a few minutes to get used to, but this is amazing." Kate thinks, executing a nose dive then banking sharply.
Steve feels like a child with a new toy, executing barrel rolls and flips, getting to know the Xalt. "Good work, son." He says with pride over the radio.
"Thanks dad. Radar is picking up airbourne signatures over the Academy." Carl says, watching the two fast moving signatures, circle the Academy at speed whilst two more seem to be hovering. With a flick he shares the radar view with the rest of the sortie.
"The ones maintaining position are probably in direct support of ground units, the fast movers are possibly drones or escort craft that will intercept incoming forces." Steve observes, feeling the rhythm of the hostile aircrafts movements.
"How do we play it?" Kate asks, getting into a tactical mindset.
"Take the high ground, sweep in hard and fast, use gravity to give us enough speed to reel in the fast movers and then the helicopters. What weapons do we have on these again?" Steve asks, planning the assault.
"Two fixed forward facing coil guns, plus another in the turret and another defensive turret which will fire on incoming attacks." Carl explains, calmly.
"Sounds good, what's a coil gun?" Kate asks, unfamiliar with the term.
"Basically a linear magnetic accelerator, very high velocity and has a high cycle rate." Carl shrugs, "Look alive we are approaching target."
Kate and Carl, pull into formation behind Steve and begin to climb, "How muh will the recoil from the guns, slow the Xalt's down."
"No recoil." Carl says with a smile
"Ok."' Steve says skeptically, then he indicates the different aircraft in play and gives them designations, "Fast movers are FM1 and FM2, Helicopters are H1 and H2. Athena FM1, me FM2. Digger are you good with H1 and H2?"
"Affirmative Zeus. Due to proximity to buildings, will disable and force landing." Carl confirms, levelling off his bike and lining up.
Less than a second later, the three Xalts dive towards their targets.
> "Ok."' Steve says skeptically, then he indicates the different aircraft in play and gives them designations,
> "Fast movers are FM1 and FM2, Helicopters are H1 and H2. Athena FM1, me FM2. Digger are you good with H1 and H2?"
The use of procedures and technical terms in your story are excellent, it would almost seem like you have a military background.
Thank you for another great chapter. I love Nikita.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
The home team is sorely stressed. But they have the ability and the will to do whatever it takes to prevail. I do hate to see those that I care for being hurt. Even if fictional.
Jim sprints, weapons in hand, barging through the confused and scared occupants of the building screaming, "Move. Move. Make a hole.", as he goes.
He feels every device in the building, senses every weapon and where it is pointing and pauses breifly by the ward with the largest concentration of weapons and looks through the cameras, spotting each hostile and the two principals he needs to assist.
"I was right to come here. Fey was a sitting duck." Jim decides, pushing off of the wall and sweeping into the ward. "I am coming for you babe."
He straightens his arms, resting his right wrist on top of his left, holding the guns steady and parallel. He is in tune with the weapons, not needing to aim, as he knows precisely where each barrel is pointing, through his connection to them. He sweeps the weapons across the corridor, pulling each trigger four times, dropping three men with a double tap to the heart and a further two men with a bullet to the head.
Jim sprints forward and leaps past an open doorway, twisting in mid air and sending almost a dozen rounds into the room before her lands and rolls up into a combat crouch.
Fey hears the gunfire and feels the blows stop on her body as five men fall to the floor around her. "Badger!"
"Gimme a minute, darlin'." Jim says, advancing to the last room containing an armed man. He smiles to himself hearing the roar of jet engines approaching rapidly and thinks to himself, "Cavalry is here."
Kate gives a keening scream as her jet bike, dives at over four hundred miles per hour towards, the unsuspecting drone. "Here goes." She thinks, taking careful aim as she approaches the rear of FM1 from above and behind.
The drone is executing a gentle turn, it's operator, oblivious to what is coming. The Predator is aptly named. Armed with a rack of Hellfire missiles on each with, plus two fifty calibre machine guns and a brace of Sidewinder air to air missiles.
It swoops low over the Nirvana Academy, unleashing a burst of machine gun fire at a cluster of operatives hunkered down outside the infirmary. The operatives scatter, as the drone swoops low for a second pass and plants a hellfire in the heart of the barracks.
Kate struggles to keep pace with the faster aircraft, it pulls away from her in a straightline, but she has the advantage in the turns. But when the drone pulls up, gaining height for another strafing run, it is still enough to line up a shot.
She braces for the recoil, despite Carl's assurances, and opens fire. The lance of fixed coil gun fire, slices both wings off and a long burst from the optically aimed turret bisects the fuselage, sending the plummeting earthward in under a second. The operator watches through the cameras on the aircraft, powerless to do anything, but key his radio and announces, "Drone down."
Steve unleashes a burst at FM2 and takes a chunk out of its side, cursing, "Bloody thing." He changes course, tucking in behind the drone, trying to draw a bead on it.
The drone begins a series of evasive maneuvers, banking, diving and climbing to shake steve off of his tail. But the Xalt matches it, move for move. Steve takes his time, not pulling the trigger until he has a killshot.
"Zeus, be advised the drone is pulling you towards Watford. I am approaching from the east for a pincer movement." Kate says, calmly, before exclaiming, "Shit, target lock."
The drone looses both sidewinders and they tear forward at impossible speed, towards Kate. Instinctively, she pulls back on the bars, going into a rapid climb. But the missiles, can travel at ten times the speed her Xalt can manage.
She closes her eyes and waits for the impact, knowing that there is no time for last words. The missiles track with pinpoint precision now within a hundred metres of their target. The defensive turrets under her and Steve's bikes, spring into life, triggered by the on board radar. The targeting software picks up the missiles and does thousands of calculations per second taking into account relative air speed and trajectory, elevation, air pressure and wind speed. The defensive turrets, unleash a long burst of hyper velocity round each cutting the missiles from the air.
Kate's Xalt shudders from the shockwave, but flies on unimpeded. "Ok." she says, breathing a sigh of relief. She changes course, moving to intercept FM2 while Steve tries to herd it towards her.
"It's losing fuel. Sensors show its airspeed has dropped by ten percent in the last minute." Steve announces, doing some calculations, "By my reckoning, it is going to drop out of the sky over Watford. We have to take it before then."
"Climb sharply, try to gain about a thousand feet. Then we try a full thrust dive at it." Kate suggests, pulling back hard on the bars.
Steve follows suit and they dive as one, Steve from behind and Kate from the east. "Fly in hard, let the defensive turrets engage the drone. That should minimise chances of overshooting." Steve suggests, nodding to himself.
"Affirmative Zeus, commencing run." Kate confirms and dives hard.
Carl dives at an acute angle screaming towards the two Black Hawk helicopters hovering near to one of the sites spa buildings. "This requires split second timing or I will be a greasy spot on the lawn." He thinks, disengaging the defensive turret. "I need to be able to pick my targets precisely."
At over four hundred miles per hour he knows he is pushing the airframe to its limit, but holds his nerve, waiting for the right moment. Adrenaline coarses through his veins and sharpens his senses.
The helicopters hover oblivious to the death from above that is screaming towards them. Carl breathes slowly waiting for the right moment, watching the Helicopters' growth as he approaches rapidly.
"Nothing else exists, there is only this moment."' He thinks, redirecting the thrust vectoring nozzles of the Xalt, bringing it to a dead stop, mere metres from the helicopters. The pilots see him, a moment too late. Their fate is already sealed.
Carl sees the whites of H1's pilots eyes, and gives the thumbs up, before using the look down, shoot down aiming system built into his helmet to put a burst through the tail of each helicopter, sending them careening to the ground. Despite the lack of a tail roter ot stabilise them, the aircraft land on their wheels, surrounded by the waiting forces of Nirvana security.
He smiles to himself, unseen beneath the faceplace of his helmet and thinks, "Well if that is not a successful field test, I don't know what is."
Jim bursts into the room, to see a man in full tactical armour, beating a handcuffed woman of the floor. "Stand down." He barks at the man. Thinking to himself, "The armour will make him think he is unstoppable, but it is also heavy."
Vance glares at him angrily, pausing his assault, "Who the fuck are you?"
Natalie looks up weakly and recognises the newcomers physique, "He is Minh, of the Mrenh Kongveal and you are fucked." She whispers, just loud enough for Vance to hear.
Vance looks down at her confused. In that instant, Jim considers shootings him twice in the heart, twice in the head, but knows his armour will absorb the impact of the rounds. He casts the handguns aside and crosses the room in two steps.
Vance lashes out with a spinning backfist. Jim brings up his wrist hand and catches the back of his foes wrist, as his right hand, pushes the back of his elbow. With a pivot of his hips and a heave, he uses Vance's momentum to send him out of the third floor window.
He crouches by the victim of Vance's beating and his heart skips a beat, seeing her eyes, "Those eyes. Those beautiful emerald eyes." He thinks, speechless.
"Thank you Minh." Natalie whispers on the edge of consciousness.
Jim reaches down and gently strokes her cheek, "You are welcome. Natalie."
She weakly reaches up and strokes his cheek in return, "I didn't tell him anything about you." She whispers coughing up blood.
He sees the extent of her injuries and smiles, trying not to let signs of pity cloud his expression, "Thank you."
With all the strength she can muster, she grips his forearm with her right hand and looks him in the eye, "You gave me hope, when I had none. You are a good man. Thank you." She says, weakly before passing out.
He reaches under her and tenderly lifts her. With a thought, he releases the handcuffs and they fall to the ground, with a clatter. Jim sets her gently on her mattress and brushes the hair out of her face.
Unsure of what to do, he gently takes her hand in his and closes his eyes lost in thought.
"Hey." Fey beathes heavily, "Big guy." Fey grunts as she pulls herself forward, "Are you ok?" She flops face down on the floor, exhausted.
Jim snaps back to his senses, setting down Natalie's hand and rushing to his sisters aid, "I am so sorry." He says, hating himself for forgetting about her. He scoops her up and sets her in a chair, by Natalie's bed. Utterly focused he pours a glass of water, offering it to Fey.
She takes a sip, wincing from a cut on her lip. She looks at the woman on the mattress and nods, "Who is she? She looks familiar."
"Natalie Church, DEA agent. She was the woman I saved in Cambodia." Jim says, removing his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose. "She said that she didn't tell them anything. They wanted her for clues as to who I am."
"Oh Jim." Fey says realising the implications of this and reaches out to her brother.
"This is my fault." Jim admits, slumping down to his knees.
"We have no choice." Sasha says, with an air of defeat, "We do as they say, or we die."
"What if we take out the camera and say we have complied?" Kim suggests, trying to be helpful.
Sasha, Louise and Nikita exchange a look, before Sasha says, "That is a possibility, although if they are paranoid, they may not believe us and gas us anyway." Trying to let her step daughter down gently.
"We could try to be really convincing." Kim says and then sees the camera, still poking out of the hole and hangs her head, "They are watching, so they probably heard that didn't they?"
"I hadn't thought of that." Nikita says, pretending to be cross with herself.
"Sir." Riga, the second in command of the pool house team says, trying to get the attention of the operation commander.
Hunter turns away from checking progress on the drilling, to face his number two, "Sitrep."
Riga takes a breath, composing himself, "Air support is down and Evac is grounded."
Hunter flips up the faceplate of his helmet and strokes the stubble on his chin. "Get the men to dig in, we are going to have company."
"What about them?" Riga says nodding towards the panic room door.
"Once we punch through with the larger bit, hook up the CO2." Hunter says, grimly, "Protocol stands, we neutralise the threat and the get out of here, or die trying."
"I should be wetter than this." She thinks, absent mindedly. "Glad Sasha and Niki didn't hear that."
She takes a deep breath she doesn't need and sighs. The light from above the waters surface has dimmed, almost as if the air is thick with something.
"There is something I should be doing?" She thinks lighting a cigarette that doesn't exist, while laying on the bottom of the pool.
She feels nothing, not hot or cold. "No that is not right, I do feel something." She thinks, analysing her feelings, "I feel free."
She looks down at herself and sees nothing, except the water of the pool and its' bottom. "I am not here." She thinks, taking a pull from her cigarette. "That's not right either, I can think. What's the phrase, I think, therefore, I am."
"This is like when my body was destroyed by the nuke. I became pure will." Dani says to herself, "I am such a dumbass. This is my zombie form. The nothing I felt was because I have no body in this form. But I still feel my living self with me, which means I think I can change back."
She sits up and looks down at herself once more. Slowly her body becomes visible. "My will is my body." She thinks to herself, not entirely sure what that means, but knowing it is important. "Unfortunately, my will appears to be naked." she observes taking a drag from the non existent cigarette.
She looks at the cigarette for a moment, "Where did this come from?" She asks herself, suspecting the answer. She closes her eyes for a moment and when when she opens them, she is clad in white motorcyle leathers.
"Ok this could work out alright. In Cambodia, I could write messages in the dust. Maybe I can do more." She thinks gliding through the water without disturbing it, to a small cluster of rubble that has fallen into the water.
Nervously and with palms that would be sweating if they were real, she reaches out for the stone and wraps her fingers around it. She thinks about picking up the rock, about how it will feel in her hand and what it is like to lift a stone like this and closes her fingers.
"No. I should be able to do it." She thinks as her fingers and hand passes through the rock. Frantically she keeps trying, but to no avail.
She slumps defeated after trying every way she can think of to move it. Non existent tears stream down her cheeks unmolested by the water all around her. She kicks out in frustration and the rock stays still as her foot passes through it.
Dumbfounded she stares at the rock resting somedistance away. "I don't get it, I tried everything and nothing happened." She thinks, confused.
She sits quietly, ignoring the pops and bangs above the surface, with a nagging thought at the back of her mind, she just can't grasp.
"That is something for another time." She thinks, "I will have to speak to Niki. When she takes on a new form, she just knows what to do. Maybe I am missing something and she can help."
Her eyes widen in comprehension, thinking of Sasha, Nikita, Kim and Louise, "I have to make sure that they are ok."
She wills herself invisible ad floats up through the water into the open air, straight into chaos.
Lances of machine gun fire criss cross the room as men in full armour, engage Nirvana security forces. Explosions can be heard from outside from grenades detonating with alarming frequency. Angel looks about her frantically searching for her family, until her gaze falls upon the exposed but still locked door of the panic room.
With a thought she crosses the expanse, untouched by the upheaval around her. She gazes down at the body of a soldier in full body armour, struck down by a gunshot to the forehead.
Dani embraces the familiar sensation of controlling the body like a puppeteer and sits him upright. "Ok that is good to know." She releases him and re-focuses, "Family."
She turns to the door, with a sad look on her face, "Shit, I can't open it to check." She thinks floating unseen in front of the door.
Angel closes her eyes and shakes her head, "You really are a dopey twat at times." She berates herself and pauses for a moment changing her outfit slightly, before passing unimpeded through the door.
"What are they going to do with us?" Kim asks, trying not to think about the gunfire dimly echoing through the steel door.
"They need us as leverage." Sasha assures her step-daughter, "We are their ticket out of here. We are safe for now."
"What's going on out there?" Kim asks, nervously.
"Sounds like Nirvana security forces are trying to keep them pinned down." Louise says, with a shrug. "The one saving grace of this room, is nothing short of a tank shell will get through the walls. It keeps us safe as surely as it keeps us inside."
"Can you save us?" Kim asks, innocently.
"We will be ok. I promise." Louise says, reassuringly.
"I believe you." Kim asks, brightly.
"When we get out of here, I will take you for nail treatment as promised." Sasha says, admiring the bravery of the young woman.
"Do you really mean it?" Kim asks, wide eyed.
Sasha exchanges a glance with Louise and Nikita and simply replies, "Absolutely."
"Ok, cool, I will let you know." Kim says, turning to Sasha, "Can I learn ride a motorbike?"
A confused Sasha touches her step-daughters arm and in a concerned tone speaks softly, "Kim? Honey are you alright?"
"Yeah, I am ok. I was just talking to Angel." Kim says, in a cheery tone. "She said she will teach me to ride a motorbike, if you are ok with it."'
"Kim." Sasha speaks as softly and gently as she is able, ignoring the pleading look of Nikita, "Angel's not here. She is in a better place now."
"She has just nipped out. But she will be back soon." Kim says with a smile.
"Kim." Sasha tries to compose herself, "Dani isn't coming back this time."
"She said she wouldn't be long, she just has to take care of the men outside." Kim says, a little hurt and confused. "She really is an Angel you know."
With tears moistening her eyes, Sasha hugs Kim, "I know she is, sweetie." Fearing for her step daughter.
"They are safe for now." Angel thinks, floating through the metal door and emerging into the warzone of the pool area.
She looks at the hose running from a tank of CO2 to the larger hole in the door. She reaches down to grab it, but stops herself at the last minute. Thinking, "I wonder." She reanimates the fallen soldier once more and disconnects the hose from the tank and removes the wedge keeping the door closed.
Then the soldier turns his gaze to his former comrades and his lips are curled by a smile not his own.
Hunter fire a burst of fire towards a large german SUV, hiding a pair of nirvana soldiers and ducks behind a pile of rubble to reload. He keys his radio and calls out, "Sitrep."
Riga ducks back taking cover behind a wall to the left of the main windows to the pool area, "We have multiple contacts on all fronts. They have us surrounded on all sides and are closing in."
"Get in touch with their command, confirm we have hostages and order them to back off, or we will execute them." Hunter says, weighing up options.
"What if they refuse?" Riga asks, bringing up the feed from the panic room.
"We do what we came here to do." Hunter says, with a heavy heart.
"Sir." Riga responds, thinking, "I didn't sign up to kill pregnant women or kids."
Riga picks up his radio and begins to transmit, "Calling Nirvana forces. We are holding Louise Marks, Nikita Green and Sasha and Kim Smith. You will stand your forces down and allow us to pass or they will be executed. Over."
Steve listens to the message from the command centre, thinking, "They are well dug in and the type of weapons we would need to break the stalemate would put everyone at risk."
"This is Steve Marks. I will order a cease fire but I need proof of life." Steve radios, with a heavy heart. Kate places a gentle hand on his shoulder.
Riga gives an IP address over the radio, linked to the live feed from the panic room. He walks over to the door of the panic room, nodding to the quiet man guarding the door. He keys the intercom and trying to sound confident says, "Ok ladies, you are on camera with Steve Marks, please wave to him and give him a personal message."
Louise looks at the camera and calmly says, "Kill these pricks."
Nikita smiles at the camera as she speaks, "Yep, I second that motion."
Sasha rubs her stomach and smiles, "Me and Bubba support that motion, Grandad."
Kim tries to sound calm as she speaks, "Nah, don't kill them. Leave them for me. When I am old enough and skilled enough, I will hunt them down. Until then, they can live their lives looking over their shoulders."
Sasha, Nikita and Louise look at the young woman with a mixture of amusement and concern. Riga pauses for a moment suddenly worried about the girl. He shakes his head dismissing his worries and keys his radio again, "We have provided proof of life. Stand your people down."
With an unknowable smile Steve looks up at Kate for support. With a weary look, she nods and gives the order to Nirvana security to cease fire and hold position.
Keying the radio, Steve says, "Forces standing down.", whilst thinking, "Dani wasn't in the room. She is still about somewhere."
"Very good, Mr Marks. Stand by for further instructions." Riga sets aside his radio and breathes a sigh of relief, then does a double take as something catches his eye. He turns to the guard of the panic room and demands, "Why is the hose disconnected?"
The dead guard smiles then a snap and a crunch later, Dani has two soldiers under her control.
Riga stealthily approaches the closest man to him from behind, watching him closely with dead eyes. The rubble of the destroyed wall and partly collapsed ceiling provides several vantage points and concealed runs, unseen from the outside. In this instance, it also provides Riga's corpse with ample cover to move around unseen
Moving silent as the grave, he steps behind his quarry and grabs the chin of his faceplate, then kicks the back of the man's knees. Before his victim can make a sound, Riga slips the blade of his stilleto into the base of his skull.
And then there were three.
They move in unison, forming a three man snake formation, Riga is its head with the guard who killed him second. They advance in wordless efficiency to a machine gun position. The two man fire team, recognise the men approaching and beckon them closer, unaware of their doom.
The man bleeding from the base of his skull keeps watch, while Riga and the guard approach the men. Dead eyes see tired men, exhausted by their game of duck and cover with Nirvana's forces. Riga places his left hand on the nearest mans shoulder, pulling him close. With gentle care, Riga whispers, "Tag, you're it."
Beneath his faceplace the man wears a mask of confusion, hearing the odd phrase. Before he can ask, Riga has slipped the tip of his stilleto between intersecting plates on his body armour and pierced his heart.
The other member of the fire team reaches for his sidearm seeing Riga kill his colleague, oblivious to the silent man behind him. He doesn't feel the inhumanly strong elbow strike at the base of his skull, or the limp crunch of his body hitting the ground. The only thing he feels is confusion, as his dying body rises to its feel of its own volition.
The five man snake continues on towards a sniper, covering a cluster of Nirvana troops, pinned down behind a large SUV. Riga approaches in a crouch, offering his canteen to the sniper. The sniper nods lifting his faceplate and extending his hand.
Riga removes the shot glass sized metal cup atop the canteen and passes the canteen to the weary sniper. The man opens his mouth and begins raising the canteen to his lips.
It never reaches its destination, as Riga forces the cup into the mans' mouth and punches him in the solar plexus. The air blasts from the mans lungs and his gasp sucks the cup into his throat. He claws at his neck unable to breath, eyes bulging. Riga watches the life leave his body without a thought of his own.
The six men break formation and make a bee line for their respective targets. Keeping low and silent, using the cover to conceal them until they are at their targets backs. The six attack in unison, taking the remaining men simultaneously, with a long burst of assault rifle fire to each of their backs.
Hunter hears the gunfire and begins to sweat, realising that in focusing on the outside some threat from within has annihilated his team. Keeping low, he shoulders his assault rifle and ducks from cover to cover, checking his men with a growing sense of dread. "They are all dead. I don't know how, but they are gone." He thinks, turning towards the panic room, "Regardless, we will complete our mission."
In desperation he sprints towards the panic room, but is stopped in his tracks by the vision before him. He gasps at the sight of her, with tears in his eyes.
Dani floats before him, dressed from head to toe in black leather, born aloft by iridescent black wings. She clasps her hands, gently in front of her. With a smile born from the heavens, she opens her arms to Hunter and beckons him closer. "You have been doing the Lord's work. Come to me for your reward."'
Hunter shoulders his weapon and runs towards her, throwing himself into her arms. But there is nothing there. He passes through her, as if she were mist and hits the water hard. The weight of his armour, pulling him to the bottom like a stone. Desperate fingers claw at his armour, trying to free himself so he can kick for the surface.
In the dim light of the pools depths, he feels the hands of his men seize his limbs and hold him fast, while Riga undoes the faceplate of his helmet
Nikita smiles to herself, seeing the lifepulses of their captors wink out one by one. She shakes her head and sits back against the wall, visibly allowing the tension to drain from her body.
Sasha raises an eyebrow and asks, "You know something we don't?"
"Yeah, we will be out of here soon." Nikita says, with a shrug.
"How come?" Kim asks, wide-eyed and hopeful.
Nikita smiles gently at her and speaks softly, "Just a feeling." She says not wanting to burden Kim with the knowledge of her life sense. "Bad enough she saw my tentacles."
"Can I ask you something auntie Niki?" Kim stares up at her nervously.
"Of course you can sweetie." Nikita beams at her step-niece.
"What are you?" Kim asks, pensively.
"Kim! That is rude." Sasha says, sharply.
"To be fair, that is not an unreasonable question." Nikita says, trying to find the easiest way to answer, "Some bad people did some horrible things to me and awakened something within me. Now I can grow tentacles and a few other less savoury things."
"I'm sorry." Kim says, downcast.
Nikita gently hugs the young woman, "You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetie."
"I am sorry, you had horrible things done to you." Kim says, hugging her back.
"Sorry to interrupt, but shall we get out of here?" Dani says, poking her head through the door.
Everyone except Kim looks up surprised. She gets to her feet and smiles, looking Sasha in the eyes. "Told you." She says with a wink, opening the door.
She steps out of the room and stares up at Dani. Taking in her large wings, gleaming black biker leathers and flowing white hair. "I always knew you really were an angel." Kim says, filled with joy.
Dani lands before Kim and asks her to turn around and when the young woman does, she closes her eyes, thinking, "Here goes."
She reaches for the part of herself that lives and pulls herself into it, with a gasp. Her mind is flooded with sensation, as her body reforms naked as the day she was born.
Dani collapses to her knees on the hard stone floor, alive once again. She trembles with adrenaline as she stares down at her body, flexing her once injured arm. "I am back and I am whole again. Things will be ok."
Within the panic room Sasha sits on the bench and softly cries tears of relief, sub consciously rubbing her bump. Nikita and Louise put their arm around her and comfort her as they come to terms with the end of their captivity.
Caesar73 wrote: ↑2 years ago
That was outstanding And Dani has the seven lifes of a cat I would have missed her!
GreyLord wrote: ↑2 years ago
[mention]Caesar73[/mention] is correct. We would miss Dani very much. This was nonstop action. Thanks.
I have tried to put in little hints here and there that it was going to go this way for Dani. It is a logical (in my head) progression for the character. Most of the characters have grown in some way in this story. That fact and the continued support of readers has made this tale a joy to write.
slackywacky wrote: ↑2 years ago
> I am back and I am whole again. Things will be ok.
If we only could say that in real life... Very good update.
Things are often rough on them, but they have an ability to bounce back. They always do. Until they don't.
Well [mention]wolfman[/mention] what can I say. It’s always a delight to put down your tale for week or two to let the updates flow. And flow they do. Leaving myself plenty to read and catch up upon. If this tale was a novel it wouldn’t get left till I reached the end. It’s gripping as always
Bandit666 wrote: ↑2 years ago
Well @wolfman what can I say. It’s always a delight to put down your tale for week or two to let the updates flow. And flow they do. Leaving myself plenty to read and catch up upon. If this tale was a novel it wouldn’t get left till I reached the end. It’s gripping as always
I am pleased that you are still enjoying it Bandit. Long may you continue to do so.
"Between the dead bodies in the infirmary, crashed helicopters and drones and all of the other bodies. There is a lot of heat on us right now." Louise says, massaging her lower back and taking a seat.
"Is Nirvana's position safe?" Steve asks, placing a cup of tea at his wife's side.
"Well we were defending ourselves from an aerial assault with equipment we had on demonstration from Lazarus Advanced. So aside from issues with unlogged flight plans we are ok. There is even leeway on your pilots licenses as the weight of the Xalt's is below the threshold to class it as an aircraft." Louise explains, checking her notes, "In the poolhouse, engaging forces are judged to have been deemed to have eliminated themselves. The only real issue is the infirmary." She confirms, grimly.
"What about the infirmary?" Nikita asks, cautiously.
"The police are at a loss to explain what happened there. The records have been erased on the woman in the room, the camera does not clearly show her face and Jim looks like minh of the Mrenh Kongveal." Louise explains.
"Are we ok then?" Dani asks, hopefully.
"I think so. Provided the woman stays quiet on the matter, we should be ok." She says, with a hesitant nod.
A comfortable quiet descends over the room, with everyone feeling a sense of relief. "You know, I have had a chat with Carl about the Xalt's. We can have a few on test." Steve says, with a glint in his eye.
"I have had a chat with him about them too." Louise says with a knowing smile, "He assures me that you wont be able to fit a child seat."
"I need to ask him about a closed cab version." Steve says with a grin.
Natalie slowly opens her eyes, looking around the room. Her gaze falls upon a black man seated in a chair across the room. Her gaze takes in his strong jaw line and well defined cheekbones. She can make out the mans physique under his shirt and thinks to herself, "So this is what Minh looks like without his face covered."
"Hello Natalie. How are you feeling?" He asks, gently.
She stretches experimentally, in expectation of the pain of the beating exploding within her senses, but there is no pain. There is only the warm comfort of the bed. "I feel pretty good to be fair."
"I am glad to hear it." He says, relieved.
"Thank you." She says, warmly, "You seem to have a habit of finding me tied up, in the hands of psychopaths and rescuing me."
"E-everyone needs a h-hobby." He stammers a little, caught off guard.
She beams a smile at him, "My hero."
"They came for you because of me." He says, feeling guilty, "I didn't realise you were here or in danger, until after Ihad saved you."
"I don't care. You saved me from who--knows-what. Regardless of why you did it, I am grateful." She says, earnestly, sitting up in bed, allowing her long blonde hair to spill around her shoulders.
"Thank you for not telling him anything about me." He says, with a smile.
"What could I tell him? That you are from Africa and look after yourself." Natalie says with a shrug, "I don't even know your name."
He wrestles with a moment of indecision, before saying, "My name is James, everyone calls me Jim."
"Nice to meet you Jim." She says, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Her smile falters for a moment, as she asks, "What happens now?"
"What do you mean?" Jim asks confused.
"Well I am fully healed so I have been here a while. I have seen your face and I have no idea where I am." Natalie says, nervously, "What are you going to do with me?"
"I rescued you a few hours ago. You are in a different building on the Nirvana Academy site." Jim explains, trying to keep his voice calm.
"But I have seen your face." Natalie says, feeling a little worried.
"True but the world is a big place. You have no idea where I will go after this and I am good at hiding." Jim says, with a wry smile, "Besides, most cops are white and people like me, all look alike to them."
She cracks a smile, "Trust me, you stand out in a crowd."
"So do you." He says, a moment before realising he was thinking it.
Natalie blushes and looks away, "Thank you." She says, demurely.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you." Jim admits, feeling terrible.
"It's not that." She says, unable to look him in the eyes, "I am here at your mercy and have no idea what you want with me."
"You are not a prisoner here, but we would appreciate it if you kept your head down for a bit at least until your injuries might have healed naturally." Jim explains, trying to keep his tone light.
"So, if I wanted, I could just go?" Natalie asks, trying to sound calm.
"As I said, you are not a prisoner. We have no interest in keeping you here against your will." He says, relaxing in his seat a little.
"Thank you Jim." Natalie says, with a genuine warmth allowing herself to relax.
"I am sure you must be hungry. If you would like to rest, I will bring you something to eat. Do you have any allergies, or dietary requirements?" Jim asks, taking a breath.
"I am easy." She says, blushing when she realises what she has said.
Jim smiles warmly, letting the comment go, "I will see what we have on the go." He says, rising from his seat.
Natalie watches him leave and then lays back down in the sumptuous bed, thinking to herself, "What the hell have I woken up to?" She stares up at the ceiling, "He says I am not a prisoner, but I feel like one."
"What is his connection to Nirvana? He said 'We have no interest'. Who is we? Nirvana? Something else?" She wonders, looking around the room again.
She gets out of the bed, swinging her legs off the side with ease. Tentatively, she stands and walks to the en-suite bathroom. She pull off the hospital gown and looks down at herself, "Not a single mark. A few hours ago I was a battered and bruised mess. How is this possible?"
After relieving herself and freshening up she slips on a robe from the back of the bathroom door and returns to the bedroom. She throws a glance at the door, thinking about leaving, "It is tempting to try to get out of here, but I have so many questions." Then and there she makes a decision, "I don't think I am in any danger. I think I want to stay."
She finds a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and some underwear and decides to get dressed. She leaves the top untucked in her jeans letting it hang where it falls. She looks once again at the door thinking for a moment about leaving, then smiles to herself thinking, "I probably wouldn't get three steps beyond the door, before I am dragged back and tied naked to the bed."
Natalie's eyes glaze over imagining Jim standing over her bound body and what he might do to her.
Jim slips into Fey's room and sits himself down in the chair by her bed, gathering his thoughts.
"How did it go?" Fey asks, sitting up on the bed.
Jim sits back on the chair, thinking back to the conversation, before finally speaking, "This might have been a mistake."
Fey looks at him, concerned, "Why do you think that?"
"She is trouble." Jim admits, cautiously, "I think she was flirting with me."
"I'll call security. A beautiful blonde woman, finds my brother attractive, she is obviously not in charge of her faculties." Fey says, with a wink.
"I am serious. She is smart, observant and a trained investigator. I would be wary of her." Jim remarks.
"Are you afraid of her?" Fey asks, raising her eyebrows.
"No, I am afraid of what might happen if she stays." Jim says cryptically.
Kim walks around one of the Xalt's and strokes its body. She freezes hearing a gentle voice behind her ask, "What are you up to?"
She turns around panicked. "I am so sorry, I didn't do anything. I swear."
Carl steps into the light and smiles, "Sorry sweetie. I didn't mean to scare you." He casually walks over and pats her on the back.
Kim breathes a sigh of relief and relaxes, "Sorry Uncle Carl, I was just looking."
"No need to apologise. It's cool." Carl says, warmly, "I will be taking them back after dinner with Niki and Dani."
"Can I come?" Kim asks, excitedly.
"Oh I am sorry darlin'. They are not balanced for passengers." Carl explains, while thinking, "If I take you on the back of one of these, Sasha will have my guts for garters."
"I could take one on my own." Kim says trying to sound innocent.
"Yeah, if your dad and Sasha say it is ok, I am sure you could." Carl says, smiling to himself.
"I already spoke to Sasha and she is cool with it." Kim says, trying to sound convincing.
"That's good. What did your dad say?" Carl asks, seeing through the attempted deception and playing with the young woman.
"I er..." Kim hesitates.
"That's what I thought." Carl says with a smile, "Tell you what, I have to run a few tests on them. How would you like to help?"
"What would I need to do?" Kim asks cautiously excited.
"Sit on the bike and rev it, while I take some readings." Carl says, trying to make it sound boring.
Kim nods eagerly, "Yes please uncle Carl."
Carl smiles to himself, thinking, "Seems like I have a little helper for a change."
"It is a filthy night out there." Dani says, coming in after a cigarette outside.
"Absolutely pouring down." Nikita says, following her in.
Sasha looks nervously at the clock, thinking to herself, "Kurt should be here by now." She sits back and rubs her stomach with out thinking then freezes.
"Sasha? Everything ok love?" Steve asks, concerned.
A single tear slips down her cheek and she smiles, "The baby is kicking."
Steve and Louise join her on the sofa and give her a hug, "Congratulations, sweetie."
Dani, Nikita and Carl all take it in turns hugging their sister. Carl leans in and whispers in her ear, "We should take the bikes back, before the weather gets any worse."
"Safe journey. It is rough out there." Sasha says, worrying about Kurt once more.
"Why don't you pop them in our hangar for the night? They will be secure." Louise offers.
He exchanges a look with Nikita and Dani and nods, "That would be very helpful. Thank you."
As Carl leads Dani and Nikita out, Jim hugs Sasha and bids everyone a good night. While Kim slips onto the sofa between her and Louise, "Do you want to feel, sweetie?" Sasha asks her.
"Yes, please." Kim says excitedly. She tentatively puts her hand on Sasha's bump and pulls it back as the baby kicks. "I think Bubba will be a martial arts expert like you."
"Bubba has a lot of spirit. Especially after the day we have had." Sasha says, stroking Kim's hair. "That was a very brave thing you did today, Kim. You saved the baby's life and mine. Thank you."
Sasha is almost talking to herself, as Kim is already fast asleep tucked into her side. Sasha hugs the young woman and kisses the top of her head, thinking of what might have happened, if she hadn't been there.
Sasha looks up, hearing the front door open. She looks expectantly at the doorway to the living room and beams seeing Kurt stride in.
He looks tired and his normally immaculate suit, rumpled. In the light of the room, he looks aged with worry. "I am so sorry, love. I got here as quickly as I could." He says gently, as he kisses her on the cheek. "Are you alright? Has Kim been good?"
"I am fine and Kim has been lovely." Sasha hugs him tenderly, trying not to wake Kim, "I am so pleased you are here. I was starting to get worried."
"Sorry, the roads are awful out there." He says, softly kissing her lips, feeling truly home in that moment. "I love you."
Sasha beams at him, "I love you too."
"What happened today?" Kurt asks, softly.
Kim murmurs softly and nestles against Sasha, drawing her fathers attention. Kurt smiles gently down at her, "Let me get this one to bed and then we can have a proper catch up." He whispers, softly.
Sasha nods and smiles up at him, watching as he scoops up Kim with gentle grace. He mouths the words, "I love you.", to Sasha and makes his way towards the stairs.
Kurt pulls back the covers on Kim's bed and he gently lays her down, resting her head on the pillow. With tender care he removes her trainers and tucks them under the bed. He pulls the covers over her and sits on the corner of the bed. "I was so worried about you, sweetheart. I would have been devastated if anything had happened to you."
"Uhhh dad?" Kim mumbles, half awake.
"Sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to wake you." He says, gently squeezing her shoulders and smiling down at her.
Slowly she sits up and then wraps her arms around him, "I missed you dad."
"I missed you too pumpkin." He says gently.
"I was really scared." She says, squeezing her father.
"You are safe now." He coos, resting a hand on the back of her neck, gently pressing her into his shoulder.
"When the drones attacked, I just reacted on instinct and protected the baby." Kim says, struggling not to cry, "I didn't know it would hurt so much."
Kurt's brow furrows as she continues, "There was so much blood. Every part of me hurt." She says, starting to let the events of the day pour out, "Auntie Niki was able to heal me, but she had to kill Dani to do it."
Kurt's mouth is dry and he struggles to swallow, thinking, "She doesn't lie to me. But this is unbelievable."
"We ran into the panic room and locked ourselves in and everyone got a gun, ready for someone to come for us." Kim explains breathlessly, "Niki was so cool, she turned her arms into tentacles and took a bunch of guns and was like, 'Yeah, I learned this in Cambodia. Deal with it.' But then we got locked in and the men who came threatened to gas us. But then Dani turned into an angel and made them kill each other."
"What the hell is this? What happened here?" Kurt wonders, paralysed by indecision.
"What we didn't know is that Uncle Carl, Steve and Kate were on flying bikes, fighting drones and helicopters." Kim says, excitedly. "And Badger was in the infirmary saving Fey and another lady. He is so cool. didyou know he is Minh of the Mrenh Kongveal?"
"Kim there is no need to make anything up. Just tell me what happened?" Kurt says, kissing the top of her head.
"But I am daddy." She pleads, reaching for her phone. A moment later she shows her father the screen, displaying a photo of her perched atop an Xalt, while it hovers. "Uncle Carl let me help, when he tested one."
Kurt's head is spinning as he grapples with the story his daughter has told him. "Well it sounds like you had a very exciting day." He says, trying to gather his thoughts.
"I thought it would be a bad day after Sasha found me this morning. I thought she would be so mad that I had tied myself up and couldn't get free, but she was really cool about it." She says, oblivious to the reddening of her fathers face.
"All's well that ends well, eh?" Kurt says, knowing he needs to speak to his wife.
"Yeah." Kim beams up at him, "I'm glad you are home safe. I was worried about you getting home ok in this weather."
Despite the raging storm of conflicting emotions, Kurt smiles, "Well considering the day you have had, a drive home in a bit of rain is a piece of cake."
Kim yawns and fights to keep her eyes open. Kurt lays her down on the bed and gives her a soft kiss on the forehead, with a look of love in his eyes. His face hardens, as his fingers brush something cold and hard, under her pillow.
He already knows what it is, as he pulls the item loose and holds it in his hand. He lifts it into the light and pinches the bridge of his nose with the fingerts of his free hand. The Walther PPK gleams in the dim light, he stares at it feeling sick, "What are you doing with a gun?"
"Sasha gave it to me when we were locked in the panic room." Kim says, innocently, "Don't worry I have been practising. I know how to use it."
Kurt hangs his head and breathes out slowly, "Put your shoes on and pack a bag." He says, without emotion.
"But dad. Why?" Kim asks, confused and still sleepy.
"We are going to stay with your uncle for a bit." Kurt says, getting up of of the bed.
"But, dad....." Kim begins to plead, before her father cuts her off.
"No buts." He says, gently, "You can see some of your own friends."
"But I want to stay." Kim pleads, "Sasha will want to stay too."
"Then it will just be you and me. A little Daddy-Daughter quality time." Kurt says, gently squeezing her upper arm. "Don't argue with me on this."
Kim looks up at her father and cannot argue, "Yes dad."
Kurt stands at the top of the stairs and takes a few deep breaths to calm himself, before he descends. Everyone's smiles are sent his way, when he descends to join everyone in the living room.
He rests his hands on the bannister reaching the bottom and pauses, with a faraway look in his eyes.
"Kurt? Darling? Is everything alright?" Sasha asks, concerned.
Kurt thinks about the question for a moment before simply saying, "No."
"What is it? What's wrong?" Sasha asks, rising to her feet.
Kurt gives a gentle gesture, indicating she should sit and when she does, he begins. "Kim has just told me all about today and what I have missed."
"It is not as bad as she might have told you." Sasha says, unable to read her husband.
"I hope not." He says, speaking slowly, trying not to raise his voice, "Because she told me that you found her this morning after she had tied herself up. Then she was badly hurt in a drone strike and somehow, she is fine because your scary assed sister let Kim's injuries kill her. But it is ok, she came back to life and killed all the men that came for you while you were locked in a panic room. Although, you probably would have been fine, because your other scary assed sister, turned into some kind of gun wielding octopus, just in case." Sasha and everyone else listens in horror, as Kurt continues, "But as I said, it is ok, she is all smiles, becuase to cheer her up good old uncle Carl lets her fly a jet bike."
He stands at the foot of the stairs, with a faraway look in his eyes. Struggling to maintain his composure, he crosses the room and claims a bottle of water from the minifridge in the corner.
"Kurt, she is alright. She is safe." Sasha assures him, fearing the look in his eyes.
"Yes, she is." Kurt says, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, his deep mancunian accent rumbles like distant waves. "And to be fair, I would be ok with that. You kept her safe. The problem is that she looks up to everyone in this room, like you are all rock stars. Given what some of you do, I am not ok with that."
Everyone exchanges uncomfortable glances, but for now remain seated, wanting to support Sasha. She looks up at him with a pained expression, "What do you mean?"
He slowly walks to the centre of the room, then pulls something from his pocket and places it on the table.
Everyone stares at the stainless steel handgun on the coffee table, like it is radioactive, "The other thing I am not ok with is my little girl, sleeping with a gun under her pillow. A gun she says you gave her."
Sasha remembers the moment in the pool house where she gave Kim the weapon, "Kurt, I can explain."
"I am not interested." He says, cutting her off, "You put a gun in my daughters hands and she put in under her pillow." With tears in his eyes, he sits at the foot of the stairs. "She is thirteen years old. She is not one of you."
"Can you please give us some privacy?" Sasha asks, everyone in the room.
With words of support everyone leaves giving Sasha a hug, as they do.
Outside the house the rain lashes down and the sky is carved into a dark cloudy jigsaw by shards of lightning. Wind tears at the trees, shredding their leaves and smaller branches.
Sasha nervously walks back into the living room, after the last of her family leave. She takes a seat on the sofa, scared to hug Kurt in case he cracks. She watches him, in the same spot she left him and can see he is wrestling internally.
"I thought I was alright with it." Kurt begins, trying to keep his voice steady, "Knowing that you could dash off at a moments notice to fight God knows who. I would never dream of stopping you from doing what you felt was right. I was ok with it, because it is you and you will always come back safe and I have always known how terrifying some members of your family are, but have been able to get past that." He closes his eyes and swallows, "But, I don't want this life for Kim. She is my sweet little cherub. I dont want her turned into some lethal instrument, like a clone of your dad, Kate, Niki or, God forbid Dani. She deserves her own life."
"I want that too. She is such a wonderful young woman. She deserves to be whatever she wants to be." Sasha says, in a compassionate tone.
"She wont get that here." Kurt says, with a heavy heart, "Every day, she will see you and your family and think to herself, 'That is what is expected of me.' I have heard what Kate and Niki talk about when they have a smoke, comparing notes on weapons and operations that they have done and I have overheard Steve talking about what he calls his sins to Lou and Kate. If I have heard it, chances are Kim as too at some point too."
"She is a strong woman who knows her own mind." Sasha says, "She will walk her own path."
He takes a breath to calm himself, "We have both seen the changes in her since La Palma, she is quiet, almost withdrawn and secretive. Even after we spoke to her about it, she is still trying to become like your family."
"What is so bad about her becoming like my family? We have saved so many lives." Sasha says, feeling hurt.
"What's wrong with your family?" Kurt asks, getting to his feet unable to hold his temper any longer. "Your family jet around the world and kill whoever they want and the world turns a blind eye, because of the greater good. Dani, Niki and your father are basically mandated serial killers and Jim is effectively an international terrorist. I am sorry but none of them are fit role models for my daughter."
"How dare you say that about my family?" Sasha asks, raising her voice slightly and stepping closer to him.
"This is not a family, it is a Death Cult." Kurt say, in a louder and harsher tone than he had intended.
The air is split with a loud crack, as Sasha lashes out with an open handed slap, catching Kurt on his left cheek. He raises his hand to his face and yells, "Kim get down here. We are leaving."
Sasha reaches for him with tears in her eyes, "Kurt I am so sorry."
Kim reluctantly carries her bag downstairs, fearful of what she will find. Her eyes widen, when she sees Sasha crying and her father with a red mark on his cheek.
She drops her bag and runs to Sasha hugging her tightly, "Sasha what's wrong? Is the baby alright?"
Sasha dries her eyes and smiles down at Kim, "Nothing darling, just been a long day."
"Daddy can we stay? Sasha needs us." Kim pleads, staring up at her father.
"I will be ok, darling." Sasha says, touched by the young womans concern.
"Sasha will be ok, she has her family to support her." Kurt says, trying to smile, though his heart is breaking. He turns his gaze to his wife, and sighs, "Look, I will call you in the morning, when things have calmed down a bit."
Sasha's pleading eyes, almost break his heart, before she mouths "Please don't go like this."
"With everything that has happened, it is probably for the best is we get some perspective." He stoops down and picks up his daughters bag. "We should be at my brothers in a few hours. I will let you know we get there alright."
As the rain lashes down and the thunder rolls, Sasha watches the car drive slowly away and returns Kim's wave from the front passenger seat.
Tear flow unchecked, mixing with the pouring rain and making her feel like her whole body is drenched in her sorrow. She stares down the drive way, after they drive out of sight, praying that they return.
An hour later, she crawls back inside her home, clicking the front door shut. She slumps back against the door, engulfed by the silence of the house and begins to cry.
Kurt is a good guy but he has elected to remain an outsider. This is so very sad. And he is not the brightest bulb in the pack. He doesn't seem capable of realizing that Kim is a target and that he is culling her out of the herd making her easy pickings.
GreyLord wrote: ↑2 years ago
Kurt is a good guy but he has elected to remain an outsider. This is so very sad. And he is not the brightest bulb in the pack. He doesn't seem capable of realizing that Kim is a target and that he is culling her out of the herd making her easy pickings.
I have to agree: Taking the moral High Ground seems more than a little arrogant by Kurt. How often did Sasha´s Family safe his Ass?
In the lashing rain and high winds of the late May evening, a police car pulls up to Nirvana Academy’s west gate. The guard approaches the car and checks his clip board, noting that there are no scheduled police visits today.
He recognises the officer behind the wheel, as a local sergeant who has been here for tactical and forensic training a few times over recent months. Despite knowing her, he checks the officers Warrant card and signs the two officers in, before directing them on their way.
Sergeant Dunn pulls away from the checkpoint and sighs, “The courses here are excellent. It is normally a pleasure to come here.” She takes the turning off of the main driveway to meander between two lines of trees, which do nothing to stop the rain lashing the side of the vehicle.
“Sarge?” Constable Quinn asks, breaking the silence in the car, “How bad do you think this is going to be?”
Dunn takes her eyes off of the road for a moment, to see the worried look on the younger officers face, “It is never easy responding to calls like this. No way to predict how they will react.”
“What about the rumours about these guys? Are they all like super-assassins? Should we have armed back up.” Quinn asks nervously, his young betraying his lack of experience.
Dunn exhales slowly, “Regardless of what they can do, or who they are. They are people first and that is why we are here. Speaking of which we have arrived.”
The police car pulls up slowly outside of the cottage as lightning flashes overhead. Both officers get out of the vehicle and don their white topped road traffic caps, with a sombre expression on both of their faces.
Steve nurses a scotch, deep in thought about the days’ events, feeling numb. He glances at the staircase, thinking about checking on Sasha, remembering the anguish in her voice when she called after Kurt left with Kim. “She needs to rest.” He decides, settling back in his seat. "Funny that Kurt hasn't called yet. Mind you the weather's probably not helping."
“I will head home when Nikita and Dani get back with Carl from dropping the Xalt’s off.” He thinks, knowing Sasha needs them more than they need him right now.
Steve jumps up from his chair at the sound of a soft knock at the front door. He snatches his phone from his pocket and checks the cameras, “Police?” he asks, squinting at the screen.
A second knock spurs him into action and he opens the door before there is a third knock.
Sergeant Dunn removes her cap and looks Steve in the eyes, “Good evening, sir. I apologise for the late hour. I am Sergeant Dunn and this is Constable Quinn.” She pauses to allow Steve to check their warrant cards before continuing, “May we speak with Sasha Smith please.”
“She is resting at the moment. Do you have to see her now?” Steve asks, scrutinising the officers closely.
“I am sorry sir. I am afraid, we do need to see her this evening.” Dunn said, her tone calm and professional. “May I confirm your name please?”
“I’m Steve Marks. I am her father.” Steve says, beckoning the officers in. “You had better come in out of the rain.”
Steve shows the officers into the living room of Sasha’s home, “I will just go and get her. What is this about?” He asks hoping he is wrong about the reason for their visit.
“I am sorry Mr Marks, we really need to speak to her directly.” Dunn answers, with a touch of regret.
“Of course you do. Take a seat, I will just wake her.” Steve says, heading for the stair, with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Sasha wakes slowly, feeling her shoulder gently being rocked. She looks up at her father questioningly “Dad?”
“I am sorry darling. The Police are here.” Steve says, gently.
Sasha sits up sharply, “What do they want?” She asks fearfully, all traces of sleep a distant memory.
“I don’t know. They wouldn’t tell me.” Steve says, rubbing her shoulder.
“I can’t do this alone. Will you come with me?” She asks, tearfully.
Steve hugs her gently and whispers, “I am always with you darling.”
Steve puts his arm around Sasha and gives her shoulder a subtle squeeze, as Sergeant Dunn begins to speak, “Mrs Smith, we are sorry to disturb you at such a late hour. We have received a report from Midlands Traffic Police. I am sorry to have to inform you that approximately an hour and a half ago there was an accident involving your husbands Audi.”
Sasha feels the bottom drop out of her world, her heart starts pounding in her chest. With quivering lips all she can say is, “No.” shaking her head in denial.
Sergeant Dunn removes her cap and in a solemn tone continues, “It is my duty to inform you that your husbands vehicle left the road on the M6. Traffic officers and paramedics attended site, however, your husband suffered massive internal injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.”
Sasha collapses in Steve’s embrace and he feels his heart break remembering the most decent man he had ever met, the man who gave his daughter a world of love and the father of his grandchild. He feels his daughters pain and for one of the few times in his life, he cries.
Sasha sobs uncontrollably, her body rocks by spasms of grief. Steve dries his eyes and wearily looks at the Sergeant, “Is Kim alright?”
“Sorry, who?” Sergeant Dunn asks checking her notes.
“His daughter Kim. She was in the car with him.” Steve explains, feeling the hairs go up on the back of his neck.
The two officers exchange a look of concern. “Mr Smith was alone in the vehicle.” Dunn says, straightening up subconsciously.
“Kurt was taking Kim to his brother in Liverpool. They left a few hours ago.” Steve explains, wanting Kate here.
“Ok. Can we have the number and address for Mr Smith's brother, so we can check if Kim had been dropped off there?” Dunn requests, calmly.
Steve pulls his phone and finds the number and lets the officers use his phone.
The look on the Sergeant’s face tells him all he need to know, when she returns with his phone. "There is no answer, I have requested a local unit attend."
The next three hours pass in a daze. So many questions. Why were Kurt and Kim were going to his brothers? What happened the evening before? What was the argument about? Can we account for our whereabouts?
Steve downloads a copy of the houses security video and forwards it to the police to confirm he and Sasha had stayed in the house.
One by one everyone in the family files in, confirming their whereabouts and providing proof. All the while, watching their phones for news of Kim's safe return.
Sasha finds a recent photo of Kim for the police and agrees to an officer being posted in the house in the event that a ransom demand is received.
In the early hours of the morning, Sasha has cried herself to sleep on the sofa. Steve tenderly lifts her and gently carries her upstairs and tucks her into bed, then returns to the living room, to sit heavily on the sofa next to his wife. "Why don't you go to bed for a bit?" Louise asks, gently.
"I can't abandon her. Someone has to watch the phone in case the people holding Kim try to contact us." He says, exhausted.
"I can watch the phone, dad." Carl says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sasha will need you rested tomorrow, why don't you and Lou take Sasha's spare room. You can sleep and still be close if we need you."
Steve thinks for a moment about arguing, but then looks at Louise, seeing the tiredness in her eyes and knowing that she will not sleep unless he does, "You make a good argument, son." Steve says, leaning forward in his seat, "Where are your sisters and brother?"
"Fey has just had a shot of PCS and is sleeping it off at Niki's. Jim is looking after her and a woman he pulled from the infirmary. Niki and Dani are on their way to the crash site, with Kate to see what they can find out. Hel is still in the wind." Carl says, cracking his neck, "Jim is searching camera feeds and any other data streams for signs of Kim. We are going to find her."
As the sun comes up, Carl leans back in his chair and turns on the television. "Lets see what's happening in the world." He whispers to himself, changing the channel to a news feed.
The screen shows an immaculately turned out weather presenter giving the days forecast. Carl focuses on the news ticker at the bottom of the screen.
"Rogue drones and terrorist forces assault Nirvana training academy and learned a harsh lesson." The first story scrolls across the screen.
"Heiress to the Smith Logistics empire, missing feared abducted." Carl reads, feeling a hollow pit in his gut. He thinks to himself, "We need to tell the whole story."
"Rumours of Minh the leader of the Mrenh Kongveal, being spotted in Watford are disproved by eyewitnesses." Carl allows himself a smile and thinks, "Thanks, Jim."
But it is the last story that snaps him fully alert, "Former UN Under Secretary Lupita Carrillo disappears from federal custody."
"This could be very bad, if she is in the wind, T.H.I.S. could go underground and we will never find them." Carl runs his fingers through his hair and sits back with a look of weariness on his face.
Dressed in a robe and shorts, Jim sits forward on Nikita's sofa and puts his head in his hands, "Where are they? First Hel, now Kim. It is like they have vanished off of the face of the earth."
"Are you alright?" Fey asks, seemingly popping out of nowhere, in a pyjama top and trousers.
"Hello, babe." He says, wearily, "I don't understand it, I cannot find them."
"Where have you looked?" Fey asks, sitting next to him and putting an arm around his shoulders.
"My programs have checked pretty much everywhere I can think of." He says, sounding defeated.
"We will find them." Fey assures him.
"Not like this we won't." He says bitterly.
"When was the last time you slept." Fey asks, worried.
"Before you had your accident." Jim admits, "I cannot rest until they are safe."
"That's what you think." Fey says, brushing the back of his neck and sending him to sleep. She cradles his head against her shoulder, until she is sure he is asleep, then she lays him down on the sofa. With gentle care, she removes his slippers and glasses and then covers him with a blanket.
Fey gently kisses him on the forehead and whispers, "You do so much Jim. You put too much on yourself and try to do it all. Why don't you let us help?"
She gently rises from her brothers side and thinks to herself, "Today will be a long day." She takes a look at the time and wanders into the kitchen.
Less that twenty minutes later, a shoulder of pork is in the oven with cider, apples, sugar and cinnamon cooking slow. Atop to cooker, potatoes with their skins on are being boiled and some corn on the cob in another.
Fey kneeds a dough made of yoghurt, plain flour and baking soda with a few natural grains and poppy seeds thrown in for good measure. "No one will feel like cooking later, but we need to eat." She thinks, popping the dough into a bowl, before rubbing a thin layer of oil over its surface. She covers the bowl in cling film and pops it in the fridge.
Almost as a form of moving meditation, she drains the corn and strips the kernels into a bowl adding lemon juice, a little honey and olive oil. Then she adds fresh chopped basil, diced peppers, finely chopped red onion and a chopped chilli and mixes thoroughly, before putting the bowl into the fridge.
Unable to rest, she continues in the kitchen, preparing yet more food.
Kate pulls the car into the command post and turns to her nieces. "Niki, you and I will be able to access the crime scene with our Supplemental Legal Operative credentials. Unfortunately, they will not cover you Dani."
"Don't worry, I think I can become an angel and float around invisibly." Dani says, unable to believe the words she has just spoken.
"I have got a load of sample kits with me. If we can gather evidence like normal, I can taste the samples and see what we can learn." Nikita says, tying her hair back.
"I want to speak to the officer in charge about where they are up to and look at the car and check for signs of paint transfer and evidence of third parties. Once we wrap up here, we head to Kurt's brothers place." Kate says, while thinking, "This is going to be a long day and if this goes south, these two will be a handful."
"Why kill his brother as well?" Dani asks, shaking her head in incomprehension.
"No idea. Maybe to slow the reporting of her disappearance." Nikita offers, speculatively.
"The first forty eight hours in an abduction case are crucial. Every second counts. Now is the time to gather facts." Kate says, nudging them back on track, "We can speculate in the car on the way to Liverpool."
A moment later Dani is sat alone in the rear of the vehicle, watching Nikita and Kate introduce themselves to the officer in charge. When she sees ikita head towards the vehicle, she closes her eyes and embraces that empty part of herself, feeling her body fade away.
She opens eyes that don't exist and floats through the roof of the car. She moves effortlessly through air she does not feel floating towards the twisted wreck of a car, she knows all too well.
The blood spatter in the vehicle almost appears more vivid than everything around it. She follows Nikita as she collects samples from each area of the vehicle except for a few spots in the boot. Dani wills her voice to cross the void between life and death and whispers in her sisters ear, "Check the boot."
Nikita nods slightly, moving to the rear of the vehicle. Years of listening to an earpiece on operation, has desensitised her to sudden voices in her ear.
Dani floats above and around the vehicle, thinking, "Just relax, look for what fits, let the scene tell you what is wrong."
She ignores the obvious patch of broken glass to her left and zeroes in on a smashed phone, hidden in the undergrowth a short distance from the vehicle. She quietly informs Nikita and resumes her search.
Dani watches from beyond the veil, as Nikita stares into space. She feels in her gut that someting is wrong, seeing the distress on her sisters face. Without warning, Nikita collapses to her knees in tears. Dani flies to Kate's side and whispers in her ear, "Nikita, now." Then returns to the car to come back to life and dress.
Steve is pulled violently from his sleep, by the sounds of screaming from the bedroom next door. On instincy he leaps from the bed and runs out of the room, with Louise not far behind him.
He bursts into Sasha's room without knocking and stands stunned, as his mind struggles to take everything in all at once. Sasha sat on the bed wailing, the desperation in her eyes, the smell of death in the air and the blood on the sheets.
Steve snaps back to his senses, as Louise bumps into his back. He rushes to his daughters side and holds her close, rocking her gently in her arms.
"Help me." Sasha begs, between gasping sobs.
Steve feels his heart break at the plea, knowing that there is nothing he can do.
And Dani has the seven lifes of a cat 