"It's only for a while longer. This is supposed to be a tricky spot", Lars said.

"I know what Ansari told us. It's just that when he pulled us out of study group didn't you think we might be going someplace great? I was in Honk Kong, Macau, and Beijing. You were in Chicago in America, and now we're breathing in dirt in the middle of nowhere."

Lars pulled his eyes from the binoculars and looked over with a smile. "You seem like you complain pretty well to me."

Rico grinned.

"Nothing about our assignments guarantees glamour", Lars continued. "We serve the Master and this container is important to him therefore it is important to you and to me."

Rico shook Lars' shoulder. "That is why I like you man. You are always here to set me straight." Lars pulled out a camera and snapped several pictures as a group of men approached the container.

"They are doing it by the book, just as instructed", Lars observed.

"Good for them", Rico said. "They wouldn't want the Master to sick your sister on them."

Lars laughed for the first time that day. "They would certainly not like that, but she would absolutely love it."

"Yes she would", Rico agreed and kept shooting pictures.

None of the men in the vault had ever heard steel scream. Now they had to cover their ears as the sound increased. The lights flickered then went out, but they weren't in the dark for long as a shaft of sunlight pierced the growing slit in the wall. Fingers reached through the gap, stretching and peeling solid steel back with every movement.  The men inside focused on that hole, and soon they saw the mammoth forearms attached to those hands. The muscles seethed and boiled beneath the smooth nearly hairless skin.  Veins the size of earthworms grew even larger as more strength flooded into the already superhuman muscles. The crack grew wider still, the thick metal surrendering at an even faster rate.  Traps bulged next to an already bulging neck as those hands began to separate. Those fat arteries and veins throbbed in time with the beating of an impossibly strong heart. When the crack was wide enough the formally tough men inside saw that this muscled beast was a woman.

Thick bloated granite hard muscle stacked and flexed up all along her huge body as she unleashed the final assault against the overburdened steel and concrete. She placed her palms flat against he rough, ripped up steel sides and pressed with unbelievable might. Cracks shot up and down the walls and floors. With a little grunt, Liv pressed her arms all the way apart. Big chunks of vault and pieces of the building itself crashed down around her. Her triceps were otherworldly as she held back all the tons of pressure trying to drive the vault's walls back together with just her arms. Her entire upper body defied description, muscles thicker than any muscle head could dream to achieve covered Liv's massive torso. The six men were already backed up against the wall, but as Liv took a step into the conquered vault they wished that they could mold their body into the wall itself. None of them had a single thought of challenging the woman coming towards them, as she glanced at their faces.

Her arms were bare, streaked with sweat and pumped beyond reason.  The rest of her upper half was covered by a custom made garment that looked like it had been a sheet at one point. It contained her chest, but just barely. It was easy to see that her previous feat had made her excited. Liv's muscles throbbed and her nipples poked out like the knobs on old radios. Each breath from the muscle beast looked like it would rip her shirt in two, but it hung on. Her waist was tight giving her body an aggressive taper from her shoulders to her waist and hips. A belt that might have fit around a slim man's middle separated the big shirt from the equally huge pants. They were made of a denim like stretchy material that showed off every muscle fiber in her gargantuan thighs. The fibrous quad heads threatened to puncture the pants at any moment. Her strides alone caused her legs to tighten and flex. The men cowered as Liv reached out and grabbed one man by the back of his neck and lifted him off the ground as easily as a lioness lifted a cub. She carried the terrified man out of the vault and threw him down hard enough to make him lose his footing. The five men inside the vault breathed a premature sigh of relief because Liv turned back towards them.

"Time to go", she told the man on the floor beside her and grabbed him by the belt. She hurried towards the door, but realized from the rumblings above that she wasn't going to make it that far. She dropped the man on the shaking floor and kicked the wall nearest her. Big blocks of concrete rained out to the sidewalk. She grabbed the man and stepped out of danger as the building behind her collapsed to the ground in a cloud of dust, smoke, and sparks. She carried the man down an alley as the emergency vehicles passed them down the street. Those guys in the vault just might survive their ordeal after all. She set the man on his feet, and didn't have to say a word to make him understand that he was supposed to walk with her. Damteni wasn't far away.

"Did you deliver my request to your boss?", Damteni asked.

The scared man nodded. "I told him of it personally. He said that there is no amount of money that could buy the Cookmaster from him. He said that he is the key to his business."

Damteni's expression didn't change as he said, "I told you that I have no interest in the drug business. That man Ayet, the Cookmaster, as he is called, has other interest. I am more than willing to pay simply to talk with him for a short time."

"Allow me to make a call", the man requested and Damteni agreed. He then motioned for Liv to leave. She didn't need to be told twice. Now that she'd delivered this particular package, she was promised some time to herself. It had been so long since she had a day to do whatever she wanted that her mind exploded with stuff to do. She'd probably go shopping, and then maybe she'd catch a movie. She laughed thinking about doing all of that in her current form.

Despite just taking down an entire drug ring the night before, Jan was up and out at her normal time, running with a single minded purpose that blended her hard earned fitness with the genetic advantages of her long legs and perfect stride. Her expression was of serious contentment as she got up to pace and stayed there, but her mind wandered back to the night before, to the utter defeat on those gangbangers faces. They were so stunned to find out that they weren't at the top of their food chain. They weren't even pests to people who wielded true power. Jan also replayed LaShaunta's actions back in her head. Her newest roommate was extremely trained, and attacking those gangbangers hadn't even made her break a sweat. She was far more dangerous than even she let on, but at the same time she wasn't reckless or blood thirsty. She added so much to the little group of super human roommates. Jan looked down as she approached a couple of road construction plates covering a recently dug trench. Those things could be slippery, but she negotiated them without an issue.

There were more cars on the road than usual because the construction project that had been threatened for some time had finally begun. Some of the people in those cars were regulars, but for many others this was the first time seeing the Amazon running down the sidewalk. Her body looked utterly perfect covered in black skin hugging running pants and an Under Armour top that looked like it had been painted onto her Amazonian body. A blue and yellow headband kept her ears from getting cold, and helped keep her earbuds in place as she listened to Rubber Factory from her current favorite band.

She only glanced at cars as she passed them, but every time she did look, the people in the car were looking right back at her. Most of them would quickly turn away when her stunning eyes fell on them. They pretended to fiddle with their radios or phones while others kept right on staring. Some of that second group felt instant lust when they realized that that beautiful body was topped by an equally beautiful face. Some others probably felt some disgust figuring that the young woman running past them was trying to show off. That last group couldn't have been further from the truth. Jan could not possibly have cared less about what people thought of her body. It was nice to get compliments, verbal or otherwise, but she'd been working out since she was thirteen, and every drop of sweat had been for herself. This morning's run was no different. If she'd wanted to show off, she would have picked up one of their cars with them in it, and tossed it to the top of the overpass. She smiled at that thought and made a quick left turn up a narrow street powering into the much quieter neighborhoods. She smiled after another couple of turns because in a few short moments the kids at the bus stop would come into view.

"Are you tired today?", one little girl yelled out as Jan approached.

Jan's smile broadened and she shook her head. Another little girl held out her hand and Jan gave her a high five. Two boys got to either side of her and tried to run along side her, but one of Jan's long fluid strides was three or four choppy steps for them. She looked down with a smirk and eased off the pace a bit. Jan laughed when they started sucking air trying to keep going. Just then, over the thump of 'Grown So Ugly', she heard an engine rev. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw a silver Mercedes speeding up the hill in the center of the narrow residential street. She stopped and picked the boy to her right up by his sides to move him out of the road as the car roared past.

"Man!", the kid exclaimed with a sigh.

"Be careful. I'll see you guys tomorrow", Jan said and turned to run again, picking up speed as she crested then ran down another hill. She saw that Mercedes turning at a three way stop. For a moment she thought about letting loose a trickle of power and catching up to that car to tell him to slow down, but she didn't bother. He'd probably find some other short cut around the construction and she wouldn't see him again. She put that behind her after another half a mile and enjoyed the warming rays of the fully risen sun. She was almost back to her apartment complex when she realized that she hadn't talked to her mom in a few days. As she made the turn for the stretch run, she decided that today was the day to rectify that problem. Jan had no idea just how much Carol needed to hear her daughter's voice.

Jack Caufield turned away from the mirror to face his wife who looked up at him for a moment before straightening his collar slightly. "How do I look?", he asked.

Carol took a step back and carefully scrutinized her husband's uniform from the shine of his shoes to the crease on his trousers. She checked beneath his jacket to make sure his button line was perfect before checking the array of medals and ribbons on the jacket itself. Then she looked at his arms to make sure the Ranger and Special Forces tabs were on straight and that his unit patch beneath them was put on properly. She adjusted the blue fourragére around his shoulder, and finally she checked the silver eagle insignias on his shoulder boards. "Like the man I married", she replied then stepped closer.

He took her hands in his. "This won't last forever, Honey. I promise. Look I wouldn't have joined back if there'd been another way", Jack explained with regret in his voice.

"It's not your fault. I know what happened." Carol knew that her husband had come out of retirement because it was the only way to get authorization to rescue her brother Ted. A few short weeks ago Carol's love of her brother had made her willing to accept almost anything. Now though as she looked at her husband his decisions were becoming real, and she was becoming very worried.

Early in their marriage Carol had often cried herself to sleep with worry for Jack who'd been sent on missions all over the world. Rejoining the Army was bad enough, but Carol knew that he'd probably have to join the Agency again too. She made her mind up to be strong about it though. She'd gone through this once and she could very well do it again, although Thomas hadn't and Jan had been so young that she probably didn't remember her father's absences. "So what do you have on the schedule today?", she asked, knowing full well that Jack's answer would only be a partial truth.

"This morning I have to attend a hearing for someone who helped rescue Ted. I could have gone in civilian clothes, but the Dress A's tend to make a better impression", Jack replied.

"No argument from me", Carol said and looked her husband again, a little twinkle appearing in her sky blue eyes. Jack caught the look. He leaned down and kissed his wife passionately. He pulled away finally and looked at her for a long time before Carol wiped his mouth with her sleeve.

"You better be off", she managed to say. Jack smiled then turned back to the mirror. He tucked freshly cut hair under his green beret and walked out of the house.

The Joint Board of Professional Review met in DC, and Jack had left himself plenty of time to fight the Beltway's notorious traffic. He got to the building with some minutes to spare. While walking towards the building two lower ranked officers snapped smart salutes to Jack who responded in kind. Damn that felt good. He didn't know how much he'd missed parts military life until he was in it. The powers that be even had the good nature to promote him from Major to Colonel. After nearly fifteen years on the sidelines Jack was back in the game.

He got off the elevator and saw two very concerned people sitting in the hallway. They had the look of parents who were worried about their child. Jack and Carol had worn similar looks in the past when dealing with Jan. That worry was tinged with helplessness. Those two on the bench were helpless too. All of their money and contacts had gotten them into the building, but they couldn't get into the room with hearing, and they couldn't help their child either. Jack didn't acknowledge them as he passed. He showed his brand new military id to the guard who scanned it before opening the door. Jack found a seat in the middle of the small audience and waited.

Special Agent Angeline James' disciplinary hearing was third on the docket. She'd already admitted to the wrong doing and now she was sitting next to her representative awaiting her punishment. She knew that there was a chance that she could see the inside of a jail cell if they instructed the US Attorney to prosecute. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that, but she knew that there was nowhere to run either. A list of her infractions of read off so that they could be entered into the record, but Angie didn't have to hear them. She'd read them over and over and over again for the past several weeks. She'd stolen evidence from ongoing investigations and falsified documents to cover it up. She'd used illegal substances on government property, which was even worse than using them in the first place. She'd explained why she'd done it, but her interrogators hadn't seemed very sympathetic. She'd tried to tell them that the idea of Special Programs wouldn't work. It only functioned because so far the gifted people they'd worked with had been fundamentally decent. She'd told them that all it would take was one bad apple to bring the whole place crashing down. That's why she'd used the stolen strength serum to enhanced herself to super human levels. She knew that her good intentions weren't going to be a defense. She was at this group's mercy. Several people testified in the hearing including Special Agent Jose Fiero, whose life she'd saved. Jack watched Angie as she sat there in a gray business suit trying to keep emotions from her face. Once the evidence locker attendant had finished, the panel asked if anyone else had anything to add. That was Jack's cue.

Everyone turned to look at the big man in the crisp uniform heading towards the microphone. Each person on the panel noted the badges and ribbons on his chest as he got closer. Angie looked over towards the aisle when everyone else did and saw Jan's father approaching. For the first time that morning she got a pit in her stomach because she had no idea what he might say.

"State your name for the record", the chairperson said.

"John Caufield, United States Army." That felt good to say.

"Proceed."

"My comments will be brief", Jack said and cleared his throat a little. "I've served this nation all over the world with an assortment of units. The list of people who I've had the pleasure of serving alongside reads likes a roster of heroes, and it's no exaggeration to say that Special Agent James was as effective and talented as any I've served with.

"Her gallantry was evident to me and she had the skills of someone who was both well trained and disciplined in the field. She risked her life in front of my eyes more than once, with selfless drive to help the team. Now, I am completely aware and I understand the rules that Agent James has broken, and everyone in this room knows that she must be punished, including Agent James herself. I only ask the panel to take into account all the good that Agent James has done, and all the good things that she is yet to do for this country. Also I appeal to a trait that doesn't get shown in this town very often, compassion. I am convinced that if this panel were to show Agent James mercy, that in short order she'll reward that leniency with results because that's the type of person… the type of agent that she is." Jack glanced over to Angie who was dabbing wet eyes. "Thank you all for your time", he said and turned back towards his seat.

"No, thank you, Colonel for your insights", the chairperson responded. "We'll certainly take your words into consideration."

A few minutes later Jack walked back out to the hall. As he approached the worried couple, he looked over with a wink and gave them a thumbs up. They'd find the punishment out later, but Jack knew that she'd received a six week suspension with a loss of security clearance, all of it pending a later review. Those were pretty harsh slaps, but nothing that Agent James couldn't recover from in time. Jack smiled as he climbed into his suv figuring that he'd done his good deed for the day. Now though it was time for him to head to the lion's den.

The approach road to the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency wasn't big or grand. It was austere and very well guarded. Jack pulled up to the guard station and held out his military ID to the young man holding out his hand. The guard scanned it then looked at Jack then back to the id before handing it over. The barrier rose and Jack went through. He sort of missed the banter with the guards at CSB Systems headquarters in Bethesda, because CIA guards didn't banter. Jack wasn't sure they even smiled.

He pulled into the visitor's lot and for the first time in a decade and a half walked through the CIA's front door. Almost out of reflex he looked over at the Memorial Wall, his eyes instantly finding the four stars that represented people he'd known personally, including the man who'd recruited him into the Agency in the first place. Memories made him stand still, good ones and bad ones alike. He was lost in the past until he heard, "Colonel, can I help you?" He turned to see a woman in a black business suit standing behind him. He opened his mouth to speak, but then saw a familiar face approaching from his left.

"I've got this one", William Granger, Director of the National Clandestine Services called to the surprised employee. Who was this colonel that a vice-president of the CIA would come way down here to meet him?

Jack's face lit up and he held out his hand. "It has been a long time."

"Yes it has. Imagine my surprise when I find out that you changed your mind and decided to jump back into the struggle for good", Billy said to his old friend.

"If you say so", Jack said with a chuckle as the two of them headed deeper into the building.

"Oh", Billy said and reached into his suit pocket. "You'll need one of these."

Jack pinned the visitor's tag on with a shake of his head. After all the times he'd been in this place he needed a visitor's tag and a guide. At least his guide turned heads. In a place known for its secrets, Jack's presence had just created one more mystery that people were going to try and solve.

The building that housed this library was more than a thousand years old, and it somehow had survived all the turmoil Damteni's native Georgia had seen. He wasn't looking for books though as he walked past the shelves with a normal sized Liv in tow. She glanced at a few titles, but made sure to keep one eye on her master. Damteni's request to meet with the Cookmaster had been declined and instead of going right at the problem, Damteni had chosen to lay low for a while. It seemed to Liv that he was ready to make his move now. If the cartel leaders weren't going to loan Damteni their precious Cookmaster then he might have to take him. Damteni came to a partially open door at the rear of the library and stepped inside. "Please come back later", a middle aged man said without looking up.

"I won't take much of your time", Damteni replied and the man raised his head.

He studied the big man for a moment then stood up with a smile and extended his hand. "It's been a long time Giorgi."

"How are you liking work here?", Damteni asked after shaking hands.

The man laughed and stepped out from behind his desk, rubbing his lower back as he limbered his joints a little. "Better than getting shot at by the Soviets or the Afghans, or Americans", he observed then noticed the girl standing in the doorway. "Is this your daughter?"

Liv chuckled. "That's a new one", she muttered in her native Swedish and smiled.

"She's my student", Damteni informed his old comrade. "And sometimes an unruly one", he added just to see Liv's reaction. It was just as he'd figured. Her face turned pink and she looked away with a small amount of shame.

"Don't feel bad, my dear. A good student can be unruly and rambunctious. Giorgi knows this. That's why you are here at his side and his other students are not."

Damteni gave a snort.

"So, what brings you to my humble little office in my quiet little library? It can't be to go back to battle." He paused and raised up his left pant leg. "The landmine made sure of that."

A look of disgust came across Damteni's face. "I've never liked those things. They're a coward's way to wage war."

"Damn effective, despite that."

Damteni nodded. "Yes, I'm looking for a man named Ayet."

"The Cookmaster? He's more guarded that the president in Tbilisi!"

"That's my concern. Just tell me where he is?"

"Things moved quickly after Karim's death. Four factions formed out of his men in Georgia. It was pretty bad for a couple of weeks, but then two gangs joined together and beat the other two. They share the Cookmaster and share the profits. They say he makes the best drugs in the world. He is the Golden Goose."

"All very interesting, but not important to me."

"So you are now in the drug business?"

"This Cookmaster has other interests that interest me. Now tell me where I can find him?", Damteni's last question had a tone that made the librarian swallow a lump.

"There is a small shop building near the border with Azerbaijan. It looks innocent enough, but there will be men there who know exactly where to find Ayet."

Damteni turned to leave. "You've been quite helpful."

Liv walked behind her master as they headed towards the front door of the library until he stopped and turned. "Go kill him."

"What?", Liv asked as a reflex.

Damteni grinned. "That was a nice tale he told in there, but he neglected to inform you that after he left my employ, he began working for the drug operations that sprung up after the USSR fell. He also neglected to tell you that the faction he backed lost the recent turf war. He's out in the cold, but I just gave him a way back in. He'll rat us out as soon as he hears us drive away. The powers that be will move Ayet before we get within 50km of that shop. He was always more loyal to money than he ever was to me. That's why he's in this library in the first place."

Liv nodded and headed back into the small cramped office. "Was there something else?", Damteni heard him ask.

"Just one more thing", Liv replied in that flat tone of hers. She approached then pushed him in the chest as hard as her skinny arms would allow. With only one leg, he fell backwards over the chair which gave her time to retrieve the pistol from the holster tacked beneath the desk.

"No wait!", he yelled just before Liv pulled the trigger three times.

She walked back to the aisle with the smoking pistol hanging down by her thigh. "I wanted to make it look like a gangland hit", she explained.

"Very good." Damteni's said then gave a small grin. "I wasn't sure if you noticed the gun he had hidden beneath his desk." Liv looked hurt. He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Put the piece away and let's go."

"How do we know he told the truth?", Liv asked her master as they walked out of the library.

"We don't."

"I don't get Swedish humor", Rico admitted after Lars finished a joke.

"Maybe it doesn't translate well", Lars allowed.

Then Rico laughed. "You look so disappointed. I'll laugh the next time you tell a joke. I promise." Lars just shook his head. Rico was still smiling broadly when the phone in his pocket began to vibrate. "Allo", he answered it. "Yes Master. Understood." Rico ended the call and looked at Lars. The smile was gone and his expression was all business. "Gather your things. We're being sent somewhere else."

"Where?", Lars asked.

"Does it matter?"

"You know", Lars began as they made their way down the backside of the hill. "I would have thought that you'd be cheering about us leaving this assignment."

"Inside I'm turning flips", Rico deadpanned as they picked up the pace. "I just don't want to seem too happy in case the Master or Ansari has eyes on us."

"Good thinking", Lars agreed as they headed towards a road two miles away.

Jack couldn't help but hear the whispers as he went from location to location during his guided tour of the CIA headquarters. He shook some hands as Billy showed off some of the Agency's new toys. "So what do you think?"

"I think these people were all in grade school when I was here last", Jack replied with a shake of his head.

Billy laughed. "Come on Jack. Some of them were in high school. There're probably a couple who were even in college."

"Ha ha. When did you become a comedian?"

Just then Jack did see a familiar face. "Jack Bear!", an analyst called out and rushed out of his office to shake hands.

"Matt. Man it's good to see you", Jack greeted an old colleague as the two men shook hands vigorously.

"What's with the tough suit?", Matt asked pointing at the uniform.

"I had to let you guys know whose side I'm on", Jack replied.

"Don't worry Matt, we're pry him out the A's before we're done."

Eventually they were on the top floor just outside Billy's office. Jack realized as he introduced himself to Billy's secretary that the last time he'd stood in this spot was they day he'd resigned from the Army and from the Agency. Back then Billy had been in an office two floors down doing the job that everybody had expected Jack to have. Instead Jack had walked out of the building holding a picture of Carol and Jan in hand.  He hadn't looked back… until now.

Jack looked around the office before taking a seat. "It's a lot nicer than the last time I was in here", he observed and accepted a glass of water from his host.

"The Director got the money appropriated just after I got the post. He said he didn't want the place looking like the set of a bad 80s movie."

Jack gave a chuckle and the two old friends settled for a real talk. They'd spoken during the tour, but here behind closed doors they could speak freely. "So I heard you got attacked by that damned assassin Caeda a few months back."

"Yeah, that wasn't my best evening."

"The Italians are still in a tizzy because one of their own was selling secrets… to the thieves' guilds at that."

Jack wasn't sure how much Billy knew about that situation so he gave a shrug. "I helped them clean up a mess twenty-five years ago. I guess they were do for another one."

"Isn't that truth."

"So how's Montez?", Jack asked to change the subject. "I haven't spoken to him since just after New Years."

"Already back at work. Kid made up a story to explain his injuries and went back in."

"He's a tough one", Jack praised the young soldier he'd gotten to know a little.

"He doesn't know it, but the powers that be are already preparing to give him your treatment", Billy told Jack who shook his head.

"Gonna make him go to college and become an officer", Jack said with a knowing snort. "As the kids would say… sucks for him."

Eight men saw a single car pulling up and wondered if the idiots in the car believed that this was really a functioning market. The two people approaching had to be tourists. This location had been a gang front for years. The big guy looked pretty formidable, but his intimidation factor was sliced in half by the wispy little girl walking alongside him. Her face said that she was about twenty while her body screamed that she was ten. The man held the door open for the girl and they came inside.

"Can I help you?", one of the goons asked, playing the role of proprietor.

"Yes", Damteni said in Georgian. "I'm looking for Ayet. I was told that I could find him if I came here." Liv raised an eyebrow and racked her brain wondering what her master's play was going to be in this situation.

"We don't know that name. Either you buy something or get out", the goon said, dropping his character quickly.

Damteni reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of money with €100 notes showing on the outside. "Two years pay to the man who points me to the Cookmaster", Damteni said then looked from face to face as the men rose from their seats. Three of them pulled out guns and pointed them at their visitor.

"Now's the time to leave with your life", the man behind the counter ordered. "Leave that bankroll too!", he declared and the other seven men laughed.

Damteni turned back to look at Liv. "That one. That one. That one, and that one", he said, pointing as he spoke.

She nodded and stepped forward. The men frowned and turned to look at the skinny young woman just as a blast of heat hit them full in the face. The men closest to her looked away to protect their eyes. The smell of singing cloth and the sounds of ripping fabric filled their ears before the sound of gagging and breaking bones replaced it. A large hand grasped a man by the throat while thick skeins of dense muscle slid past each other inside a perfectly tapered forearm as fingers closed around a man's throat. His gagging only lasted a moment before his body began to convulse. His legs shook. The gun fell from his hand. Urine ran down his leg to the floor beneath his trembling feet as Liv's fingers closed. Her nipples lengthened and thickened as the blood ran from between her fingers as this man's skin and muscle ruptured. Liv's entire body throbbed with a mighty flex when she heard the first crackle from bones breaking. The man's eyes popped from his head as the pressure rose inside of his skull. His bones sounded like fire crackers as her hand neared a fist. Then the dead man's body fell straight down while his head went rolling towards the middle of the room. Liv opened her fingers, letting the gore her hand had gathered drop to the floor. The whole even had only taken a couple of seconds. The other seven men looked on with horror for a moment before Liv felt bullets hitting her massively muscled torso. She could have dodged them, but getting shot only made her more excited and her thirstier for blood.

She charged at the next man. Letting a bullet hit her in the face just to feel it. Her dense pecs stretched as she pulled her arms back, then a rippling flex surged through her chest and shoulders as she punched forward. Her fists hit the man on either side of his sternum. His body offered no resistance at all as she punched twin holes through his chest. His lungs ruptured spectacularly sending pink blood misting into the air. She could actually feel his heart beating beneath her right forearm. That sensation almost caused Liv to have an orgasm right then and there, but she couldn't. There were more men to kill. Instead she flared her lats, flexing them and her trapizius muscles until they soared with peaks of their own. Then she simply pulled her arms apart. Blood squirted from a hundred ruptured veins as the man's body split from his neck to his hips. She could have kept going, but there was so little time for her to enjoy herself.

More bullets pierced Liv's flesh as she moved like a flash towards another man, but the gangsters were fast realizing that their bullets were completely useless. She grabbed his gun as he emptied the magazine into her stomach. He shook like a flower pedal in a gale as Liv slowly grabbed him by his shoulders and began to press inward. Her eyes burned with crazy elation as this man's body broke in on itself. Her naked pecs finally got a tiny little pump as she broke this man horribly. He let out one last anguished cry before his lungs exploded. The last man ran for the door, but Liv cut him off. He dropped his gun and put his hands up.

"That's not going to help you", Liv told him in her basic Georgian. He backed away as Liv stepped forward. The fear on his face was like raw meat to a lion. Liv's hulking shadow covered the cowering man. Her muscles flexed on their own with how excited she was at his fear, but she remembered that her master was standing nearby. She'd already had enough fun. She ended this man's life quickly and relatively painlessly.

Damteni had killed the thug behind the counter and had disarmed the other three. They were sitting in a row of chairs by the time Liv finished. "Lock the doors", Damteni ordered her and turned off all the lights except for the one over top of the three men. "You gentlemen are alive because you seemed open to my earlier offer. Tell me where I can find Ayet, and I will pay the three of you and let you live."

"So Jack, I'm sure you've already figured out that we don't exactly have a plan for you just yet. You pretty much dropped in everybody's lap so those at the top are fighting over your services."

"Including you", Jack told his old buddy. "You're a member of the TOP now."

Billy laughed. "Jack I'd love to have you back working here full time but…" He sighed. "There are some questions. A lot of things have changed since the last time you were here and at SOCOM. I have complete faith in you Jack, but some of those questions have to be answered."

"So you're sending me back to spy school?", Jack asked with a bit of amusement.

"No", Billy assured him with a grin. "But there're going to be some tests that you're going to have to pass. Until then, you're going to be a liaison with the Military Affairs Director. You'll probably be at the Pentagon more than here, which I'm sure you prefer."

Jack smiled and set his glass of water down. "Basically you're telling me that the Army and the CIA are fighting over my services. I didn't realize I still had that much juice."

"Taking down an illegal operation in Oklahoma and another one in Florida goes a long way towards proving that some skills don't whither with age. There are people who want to see if you can still play well with others, and to see if you can adapt to how things are done nowadays." Just then there was a knock at the door and the secretary stuck her head in after Billy responded.

"Sir, Officer Santiago is here."

"Always early", Billy said and motioned for his secretary to send her in. Jack stood up as a smartly dressed, no nonsense woman strode into the office. Every movement of her body and the expression on her face showed her extreme confidence. "Luisa this is John Caufield."

"Jack please", he said knowing that Billy had set it up for him to say that, just like in the old days.

"Wow, the legend himself. It's an honor. I didn't realize how big you are. I can't imagine how you blended in."

Jack gave her a little grin. "Just like with everything, I had to use my size as an advantage."

Luisa wanted to ask him how, but she didn't get the chance. "Officer Santiago is going to run point here at the Agency during your evaluation and testing phase", Billy said. "If she pronounces you fit then you'll be joining her division."

"Wonderful", Jack said with a big smile, but all the while he studied Luisa's face. She hadn't known exactly what the arrangement was going to be, but she seemed fairly pleased that she was going to be Jack's boss instead of the other way around.

"I'll let you guys get to know each other a bit", Billy said a bit later as he showed the two of them out.

"I read the operational manual from the last time you worked here", Luisa told Jack once they were on the elevator. "It was a lot thinner than the new one."

"Less to worry about back then, but times change."

"Yes they do, and sometimes people have a hard time changing along with them", she said to drive home her point.

Jack had gotten it the first time. "Change is the only constant in life."

"Heraclitus of Ephesus", Luisa said. "It's a nice platitude, just like easier said than done." Jack didn't say anything else. He knew when the verbal sparring was at an end.

It turned out that none of the three men knew Ayet's exact whereabouts. One of them did give the locations of the labs though. Damteni was visibly frustrated that there was more than one location. He'd hoped to keep this operation small. Like always he'd thought ahead though. Liv was a few hundred yards from the building trying not to flex out of her big clothes while digging graves. After her fun in the market, she'd briefly reverted to her normal size to allow all those bullet wounds to become scraps and scratches rather than gouges. She's gathered up the bullets and had them on the ground right next to her as she jammed a shovel into the hard ground to remove a bit more dirt. She'd just finished that when she saw a car pull up. Even from that distance she could make out the silhouette of her brother and a short time later she recognized Rico. Damteni came out to the meet them and after a short conversation he pointed towards Liv. She actually smiled as they started towards her.

"From one sucky assignment to another", Rico complained as he picked up a shovel.

"The master didn't bring you guys here just to dig graves", Liv explained in her slightly deeper than normal voice.

"Just go carry the bodies back here so we don't have to", Lars told his 'little' sister. To Rico's surprise Liv didn't complain and started towards the building.

"That's so weird", Rico said as he finished out a grave that Liv had already begun.

"What is?"

"That Liv just listens to you like that. I mean I know why she listens to the Master and to Ansari, and I know that you're her older brother, but she's always so… so. What's the word in English?"

"Wild? Crazy?"

"Yeah, both of those", Rico echoed. "And it's like she doesn't have to care about the same things as the rest of us."

"Well beneath all of that she's the same person who used to run out into the woods behind our house and stay for days at a time because she was afraid of hurting one or both of our parents. I'd go out there and take her food. She'd let me approach because she figured that if she went wild on me that I could actually fight her off, so to speak."

"Wow", Rico breathed.

"Neither of us has ever told anyone about that, not Ansari or the Master. That's one of the little secrets we keep between ourselves. I tell you because I think you can keep it to yourself. And because I don't care if most people just think of Liv as a blood thirsty muscled manic because she is that, but somebody besides me has to know that there is actually a real person under there. My sister is crazy Rico, but the most redeeming thing about her is that she knows it."

"What were you two talking about?", she asked as she dumped five bodies on the ground before wiping blood off of her hand onto the little apron she'd tied over her big pants.

"We were talking about how crazy you are", Lars replied as if it was nothing.

Liv laughed deeply and doubled over. "I'm not crazy. I just see the world in a unique way."

Lars smiled as he looked at his massive sister. "Liv, that IS crazy."

"Crazy is to be one thing and pretend to be another", she said back. "It's all about perspective."

"You've spent way too much time around the Master", Lars began then chuckled. "He's managed to turn your lunatic ravings into smart sounding phrases. You're still crazy though."

"You're just jealous", she replied then stuck her tongue out at him.

Rico had never seen this side of Liv. She was quiet and standoffish when in her normal form. It was possible to get Liv into a real conversation, but for the first few minutes it would be like pulling teeth. When she went into her muscled form, she became uninhibited, but wild. Here though Rico saw the combination of those two states. He wondered if she calmed down the longer she stayed in her muscled form. He thought on that as the siblings kept at each other.

"What would you do if I came over there and tried to do to you what I did to that guy?", she asked her brother then motioned to the man she'd nearly torn in half.

Lars grinned, but didn't look up. "I'd hit you with a blast that would burn off your pubes and knock you back 200 meters."

"You are so cruel", she accused with a frown.

Lars' laughed. "So says the crazy woman."

Carol was in her home office and Thomas was in his bedroom when Jack walked back into his house. He didn't want to disturb them, plus he wanted just a bit of time to himself. He went to the kitchen and dropped a couple of ice cubes into a tumbler before pouring a bit of whiskey over them. He went into his own home office, down the hall from his wife's and shut the door. He'd learned a lot in his few hours at the CIA, but as he sat there he had to figure out just how much he wanted to succeed and whether any attempt to do really well during his evaluations was about the job or about wiping the smug little grin off of Luisa Santiago's face. Either way he wanted to give his very best effort, and to do that, he was going to need some help.

He went to the safe built into the wall to the left of his desk and typed in the code. He pushed a couple of pistols and some cash out of the way to grab the cell phone in the back then went upstairs to change clothes. "Hey I'll be back in a bit guys", Jack called to his family then walked out. He got into his Tahoe and headed towards Baltimore. He wasn't too far from where the old Caufield Shipyard used to sit when he dialed the only number programmed into this phone.

Amaris Johanssen was on her sofa looking at her belly wondering when she'd begin to see it start to grow. She was feeling a bit bloated from time to time, which made her sluggish, but it wasn't the same. Amaris' stomach was so slim and toned that most people would have expected her to be dreading the day when it would become huge. Truth was that she couldn't wait. Being pregnant was scary and wonderful at the same time. She was lost in her own thoughts when she heard the special ring she'd set up on a cell phone that she'd never used. She jumped off the sofa and rushed into her bedroom, snatching open the drawer and accepting the call. "Hello."

"I didn't want to startle you", Jack said as he drove past the Carlton Market. "I just need your help. It's nothing too serious", he added quickly.

"Then why didn't you just call me on my regular phone?", Amaris asked, but knew she should have just asked what Jack needed.

"I didn't want to discuss this on lines that they know I have. I'm back working with the Company. It's a long story, but I've been out of the game a while, and there're some things that people hunters do now that didn't even exist when I was out there last. Especially personal surveillance and counter surveillance techniques."

"Oh wow, the master needs a lesson."

Jack could hear the amusement in Amaris' tone. "If you don't want to do any of that stuff I'll understand."

"I just don't want to kill anybody. I'm completely fine with the rest of it. Hell, I'd even do a little B&E if the price is right", she added with a laugh. "Just kidding. So when do you want to start your… lessons?"

Jack couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm not sure. How busy are starving artists?"

Amaris laughed. "I've given Father Burris a sizable donation for his continuing help, but I'm by no means starving. I'm actually free all next week, but something tells me it won't take you that long to get a handle on things."

"Next week sounds great. How about we start Tuesday?"

"Great. Meet me in Philadelphia", Amaris said.

"Why Philly?"

"Because it's a city I probably know a lot better than you", she explained.

"Ok", Jack replied.  "Fair enough."

part 2 coming very soon

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