Chapter 74: 34. Someday.
"Sloppy, so damn sloppy. Come on, I am just a human. How come you call yourself supernatural?" Magnum's voice was full of scorn.
Number nine took a deep breath, yanked his arms free from these fucking zip ties, and got up.
His eyes flashed, his fangs descended, and he said, "Do not irritate me too much or you are my meal!"
Magnum said nothing but hit him again. They fought furiously. Magnum knew how to get this one to be so damn sloppy, get his rage out and this one did not really look at all what to do when he was trying to attack.
Once again, Number Nine was lying on the mat, and he got up to face Magnum with his hands behind his back.
Magnum was walking away when he said, "Sloppy, you are damn sloppy and you don't even notice it when I dig out your rage. When you are enraged, your reason flies out of the window. Does it seem familiar to you? You are even sloppier than Hummingbird, but I have worked with her for decades, so she has progressed. If you don't get a grip, you are and will be a liability in missions."
Number Nine freed himself and tried to calm down. He asked, "So you did this on purpose?"
Magnum nodded and said, "Welcome to one-on-one training; this will continue. It is up to you to learn to control yourself. Four got a grip in just four days, but you might take longer. You are different."
Damon Nine focused and attacked, this time not giving in to his rage, not responding to Magnum's taunts, but keeping his focus. It was not easy, as Magnum truly knew how to speak and what to say to get him irritated. Magnum was a tough adversary, fast, efficient, and not afraid of him at all.
They took a few pauses and carried on. Nine was determined to make it, get a grip, and maintain it. However, Magnum egged him on, time after time, making him sloppier for days. He was bone tired every time he went back to the nearest house left to them, and he hoped Mimi would one day be part of the pack.
However, as Number One and Number Two were in their secret places, they did not keep contact and kept them out of the loop on purpose. Mariella wanted it to be a full surprise, and she was in the base, but Nine had not yet gotten in the base. She had come home in the evening, and they had just slept, as she had been training with Wulfe, Murdock, and Dexter as well.
Mimi had recently returned, and she had been exhausted, well tired enough that when Number Four had given her a full physical with the help of Wulfe, he had to put her to sleep for a few days and give her some IVs. She had not been an easy patient, and Wulfe had used his magic to keep her in place. Mariella shared these details with "Ten," who was also undergoing training by Higgins, and was as ruthless as Magnum. She also used zip ties and tasers.
When I woke up, I found myself on my office sofa, feeling quite irritated. Salvatore had used Wulfe to restrain me while examining me for hours, and then again put me to sleep for days without saying a word. I was not in such terrible shape and had work that needed to be done. I had no time to take several days-long naps, but I had no choice. It was irritating to see that these men had truly found their balls, but fine. I got up, went to the bathroom, did my things, and returned to my desk.
There was a book titled "Field Protocols, Hygiene, and First Aid." Oh my god, he wrote the manual! I can read it when I have time; I am still the leader and will make decisions on protocols used in the field. Or Magnum, but he was busy, I guess still.
I had been sitting for a while, answering a few emails, when there was a knock on the door, and Mariella stepped in.
She said, "Good morning, you had to take a nap then. You see, Salvatore is ruthless when he wants to be, especially this specimen. Number One is coming today to pick me up, so I wanted you to know."
I said, "Good to know. Yeah, Dr. Damon does not listen to any protests, but I am back to work now, so I am not sure if I will be here all the time. We will have to take out Sark's places while the NSA takes care of a few others. But Sark and Krychek have quite a few places, and I am about to rain hell on them."
Most of my emails included hints and tips about where Sark or Krychek have been seen and a few other details. Mariella came and sat next to me.
She read my emails and asked, "Why aren't you sharing this information? We have a base full of people to see those through."
I said, "It is not hard for me to cross-reference these with our normal roster where sightings of Sark are seen so I can pinpoint a few better targets. And if we have no previous knowledge, I can check if we can send a scout or get a satellite feed. We have a base full of people, but also at this time 67 different missions to be planned, 34 missions soon to be done, and 12 missions that are ongoing right now, so we are busy. I will soon come to see where we are with those few facilities with Salvatores."
Mariella stood up and walked away.
I encountered 11 targets while reading and responding to emails. There were also sightings of Harrison near some of our bases, which was concerning, but I didn't inform anyone about it. It seemed that I would have to deal with him at some point, and it wasn't a good thing. I decided to keep it a secret and not bring it up with Damon unless it became necessary.
Throughout my life, I have interrogated many evil sarks, but I didn't have much time to ask about Project Omega. Whenever there was an opportunity, someone else like Magnum was present to help with the interrogation. Maybe one day I will get the chance to inquire further. I still had a few places where I could let off some steam. It helped me to tap into my inner interrogator, although it made me question if I was twisted myself. Maybe all the shit, pain, and hate that I have been through has had an impact on me, more deeply than I want to admit. I am no longer a victim but one who makes victims. Cycle of pain.
After spending an hour obtaining several targets and identifying locations to be checked, I exited my office and moved around the large space. The vast hall was filled with enormous tables, some of which could be lit from below. There were blueprints, lists, and various pieces of information scattered across the tables, detailing everything related to the mission. I saw a group emerging from the gear room in full tactical gear, preparing for a mission. I interacted with everyone, reviewed plans, asked questions, and provided answers.
Finally, I approached Mariella's table, where Taylor, Izabella, Fred, and Fritz were present.
I handed a list of places where we needed satellite feed to Fritz and asked, "Can we get data on these possible sark places and obtain satellite feeds, please?"
He took the list and replied, "Sure, flea leader. I am on it."
He walked away to one of the computers and began working on it. Mariella gave me a list of explosives we could use. I selected three of them and wrote the required quantities, leaving it to her to make the necessary arrangements as this mission was approaching the action phase. It would be up to her to make sure that we would have those explosives reserved for this mission, but this was not yet at that stage. This took time and I tried not to think just how many people will die when we have to do this so freaking carefully.
After spending hours touring the tables, I returned to my office. Only Mariella followed me, bringing a big tray of food. I recognized several Salvatore dishes on the tray. It was all put in order, so I had to eat as I should. Number four seems to be ready. I can use him. I ate and looked up our upcoming missions. There were so many missions, perfect for placing Salvatores if they were to get in at some point.
I had a few assignments for number four as well. I smiled thinly, as I knew what I was doing. It's a shame that one of them was in Wisconsin and the other was in Montana, meaning he would have to go to other bases. This is just a minor inconvenience. My thoughts were sarcastic. I was giving him little payback or making sure that he was somewhere else than harassing me.
Mariella was sitting and looking at the babies as they were playing. After I finished eating, I said to her, "Could you please fetch Damon and ask him to come in? I have a few missions for him."
Mariella smirked and said, "Oh, are you going to pay him back for his little medical intervention?"
I replied, "Maybe, but take a look at these two places, Krycheck places. They're not the wisest missions for me, as he's on my radar and I might get too aggressive."
Mariella looked at the papers and said, "Fine. I'll ask him to come. You can present these to him yourself. I won't say anything."
She took the tray and walked away. I gathered all the available information and printed several sheets for him to review. I knew the best way to sell gigs, and I hoped it would be an eye-opener for him as well. We were focused on our work, not just playing doctor and bossing me around. It didn't take more than ten minutes before there was a knock on my door.
I said, "Come in."
Number four walked in, still in scrubs, and asked, "Do you need me for something?"
I pointed to the chair, waiting for him to sit, but he said, leaning against the wall, "I'll stand, but spit it out. What do you need?"
I explained, "I have two places, Krycheck's places. He visits them regularly, and now we have a full roster. I have no proof of victims, so this is a low priority, but I hate to think that there might be victims there. Krycheck is nasty, and those victims don't stand a chance. I don't have satellites to monitor this place, so either someone goes there to check it out and take care of it, or I will go myself to scout it and find out if there are victims. Then I can move things along."
Number four walked closer, took my papers, and sat down, starting to look them through.
In a little while he said, "Most definitely you are not going in there, but I will. I can get a horde of hungry vampires and we will take these out."
I said, "Fine by me, what do you need more, information or something?"
He grunted, read some more, and said, "No need for information but guns. You have some gear, not my vampires, but for me. And baby, if and when I see Krycheck he will not live, not long, but I might not be around right away. I might take a holiday in Austria."
I told him, "I have my own private places if you don't want to travel."
He looked at me sharply and asked, "Why the hell do you have sheds more or less?"
I didn't respond; I felt him delving into my mind, probing my darkness, seeing that it was still under control, my memories of my little torture places. He was checking out what I had in my sheds.
After a while, he grunted and said, "Fine, I will see if I can get Krycheck. I might take up your offer. Your places are quite well-equipped, and your dentals - oh my god, when I get to taste them."
He took the papers and waited for me to open my locker so he could see what I had. Of course, he had to see my guns, and he found my newest gun. Despite my attempts to tell him it was experimental, he just smirked happily. He remarked it was too big for me as I had small hands, but just perfect for him. I was quite surprised when he changed his clothes quickly, taking my oversized shirt. Then there was a knock on my door. Dexter was there, fully geared up, and he came in to read the papers. He was ready to have some fun, too.
After number four had more or less emptied half of my guns and ammo, he looked at me and said, "We'll see sometimes. Time to get going. We can handle these two places just fine, and I will let the nearest base know if there are any victims."
I nodded and watched him and Dexter walking away.
I was sitting behind my desk when people kept coming into my room, asking about the upcoming missions. There were a lot of inquiries, and it seemed like the missions were about to start in less than a week. I was doing last-minute checks here and there. At one point, Mariella came by and brought a tray.
She asked, "How did you manage to get him and Dexter to go on those missions?"
I replied, "I have experience, and I'll get others as well. Look, come and see this list..."
I showed her a very long list of all the missions in America that would be carried out next month. "There are a lot of places, and the ones marked in yellow don't have a full crew yet. So, as you can see, I have a lot of places where I can assign salvatores. If they think they are where I am, they are mistaken."
She looked at the impressive list, whistled low, and said, "I understand. This is huge, but we are constantly here saving others. Anyway, when do I get to go on missions as well? You're right, salvatores are needed for these."
She was also smiling.
I said, "Thanks for the meal. I have a lot to do as these missions are happening next week, and everyone is checking and double-checking things, so I will be busy. I'm not sure if I need to go on missions as well."
She nodded and walked away.
Mariella was explaining a spell that she could do and showing her bracelet to Magnum when the main door was opened, and Damon number one and two walked in, looking quite surprised. Mariella was in the middle of explaining a spell that she could do and showing her bracelet to Magnum. Magnum wanted to use Mimi's rage, and it had given him many different plans where he could use it. Mariella promised to bring a few crystals full of good stuff so he could test it out.
Damon walked up to Mariella, seeing her blonde hair, and her quite a professional talk with Magnum.
"Darling, we have come to take you home. If you please explain why you are in the middle of Mimi's base talking to Magnum?" His voice was silky but oozed danger.
Mariella turned around, looked at Damon, and said, "I am a flea. Part of this. I was a wife for over three years when you made me do that. I grew up. I am no longer your doll to be dressed and order around. I am a freaking savior and this is what I was supposed to be doing, from the start. Number four is in. He went through the initiation process. Numbers ten and nine, and the foursome is also doing it, so no, I am not a good girl and let you threaten me, besides you are, an idiot. I can't tell just how big an idiot you are."
Number two stepped closer and said, "Darlin' you might remember, a cage is an option."
Mariella turned around and spat at him," Mimi is less impressed by you, as you killed her, and teleported her into Etna so she lost a good set of gear and had to grow her body back. Both of you are working for the enemy. Your little places are rotten and we will take them out."
Damon sighed and said, very condescending voice, "I see Mimi has brainwashed you. She must be bitter about the divorce. But darling, we are not working for the enemy. Our contacts are solid."
Mariella sighed. She said, "Damon, your little buddy is Krycheck's right-hand man."
She gave him the pictures.
Damon looked them through, frowning, and he said, "Those are just pictures. No proof."
Mariella said, " I have what I need, but you are a civilian. You don't have access that information. I have been planning how to take your little place out, Damon, so you better prepare. NSA knows about Sarks and Krycheck's infiltration of those government off-sites. Here is the list and pictures. These are missing fleas. Does it look familiar? I guess that they have been given false identities to make good scientists believe they are evil. And there is certain information that they want. Is it not true that there is a telepathy blocker, so you can't listen to their mind, so you would not know the truth? You are just a dumb fool who believes bullshit that humans are feeding on you."
Damon number two asked, "Is Mimi here? I would like to speak with her and ask her a few questions."
Mariella replied, "She is busy. By the way, she is the mother of very special twins. She knew that our mission would take years, so Chaos Kitty informed her and she got prepared for it. Her twins have multiple fathers—Wulfe, Magnum, and Colin all consider themselves daddies. It's not yet time to bring the twins to the magic house. I will know when the right time comes."
Number one remained silent, processing the fact that Colin or Magnum would be the fathers of his special babies.
After a while, he asked quietly, "Is she here? What about the babies?"
Mariella nodded and said, "She is busy, but the babies are fine. Number four checked on them. He was acting as a doctor here, checked on Mimi, and put her out for a few days. She had sent him and Dexter on a few missions, so he was not at the base to bother her. She is really good at that, and we have so many missions going on."
Mariella was silent for a while and send, " Number four fucked with her, and made their bond back on, so he is her true soulmate. He tagged her too. Magnum and Wulfe actually set it up as they saw she could do some action. "
Number One said, "Her office?"
Mariella pointed to a room and Damon saw that there was always someone going in with a stack of papers and someone coming out.
Number Two said, "What proof do you have?"
Mariella responded, "Sorry, you are a civilian and I am not sharing information with civilians. If you want to be a part, you have to go through the proper channels. Then, it will feel right, and only then are you truly in."
Number Two was silent as he looked on while Number One walked up to Mimi's office.
Mariella was not sure what would happen. She knew she needed to lure these two in, and then everything would be pretty much perfect, more or less. She showed Number Two the kitchen, food, medbay, and the manual that Number Four had created. She also told him about Mimi's field surgeries as well.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone