She leaned back against the weight of the truck and started pulling it up hill. The front wheels turned, but in the wrong direction. She'd have made a big circle of she kept pulling so she stopped and looked to her right. Mike was already moving. He quietly opened the door and tugged twice to straighten the wheel. They had to get this makeshift gate out of the way. With the steering wheel straight, Norma pulled again. Her quads leapt like charging horses and her hamstrings bulged outward like none of the men around her had ever seen. The truck started moving again. Even with the specially constructed uniform, Norma's calves were ready to explode though the confines of the pants. She pulled the truck back far enough to expose the gap in the razor wire covered fence, then carefully bent forward to set the truck down.

Squeaks sounded again as the suspension took up the weight, but it didn't matter. The first squad moved through the breech. Norma heard muffled gunshots. They'd already made contact. She let out a breath and wiggled her fingers before pulling the carbine from her shoulder and rushing in.

Her movements were crisp and her eyes keen as Mike joined in beside her. While the rest of the team went to the heart of the compound, Norma and Mike were tasked with making sure no one caught the rest of the guys from behind. They came to a warehouse with a mostly collapsed roof, but one area stood intact on the second floor. Norma and Mike came to the exterior stairs and started up. Each stepped boot over boot, Mike looking up and Norma looking down. He stopped when he came to the landing. The lights were on inside, and Mike stood up to peek in through the window. He only glanced for a half a second before pulling his head down and looking back to Norma. He saw three targets. Two left, one right. He was going in first and the door swung to the left, so that meant Norma would have two to put down. She nodded.

Mike turned the knob and pushed the door ever so slowly, just enough to clear the latch. With that done he paused and waited. No one noticed. He nodded again then burst through the door with his rifle ready. Norma wasn't even a half second behind him. The door was still swinging open as she came out of her crouch and found the first target. The look of surprise on this man's face would have been funny if it hadn't been the last expression he'd ever have. Norma fired two shots so quickly they almost sounded like one. The first hit the man in the center of his chest and the second one the center of his forehead. The second target already had a gun in his hand. He was pretty damned quick, but not quick enough. Norma took aim and fired two shots. Both hit the man in the upper torso near the shoulder. Norma grimaced at her mistake and took aim to fire again, but the back of the target's head exploded. Norma turned around to see smoke wafting from Mike's gun. He cued his comm, "Front lookout clear", he reported in an unnecessary whisper.

Norma wanted to apologize for not getting the second target down on the first try, but didn't get a chance. "Good job", Mike said and gave Norma's shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he walked by. He checked the door and started back down the stairs with Norma right behind him. They were just passing a section of collapsed building when a burst of automatic gunfire rang out in the near distance. Those shots were answered by three suppressed weapons. Norma realized that surprise was dead. She gripped her carbine and stayed behind Mike until a door above them slammed open. A man ran to the edge of a rusty steel ledge and looked out over the edge seeing Norma and Mike in the open below him.

"Contact 10 o'clock", Norma called out; raised her weapon and fired. Mike was only a tick behind her. Both opened up on the guy at the top of the stairs. Sparks flew from bullets impacting the rails. Then there was a shout as a bullet hit the man at the top of the stairs. Just before Norma could think that this threat was over, two more men ran out. "Take cover!", Mike shouted as the two new men opened fire. The only cover was beneath the stairs.

They jumped though tracts of bullets to reach the space beneath the second story landing. The men above tried to fire backwards to reach the two Americans but the angle was too severe. Then one got the bright idea to fire down through the sheet of thin steel they were standing on. The bullets pierced it like it wasn't even there. Mike and Norma slammed into each other trying to dodge bullets that were coming down on top of them. Mike fired up, which stopped the immediate firing, but the guys on the landing just spread out and started firing again. "Shit!", Mike said in a cool offhand manner. That plan didn't work. He was about to call in some reinforcements when he saw Norma move towards the edge of the landing. It was suicide to stick her head out from beneath the stairs, but when she put her hands on the two beams holding the stairs, Mike just smiled and loaded a new magazine into his gun.

Norma grunted a bit as her fingers gripped the steel. She gathered her thick tree trunk thighs beneath her, pushing while standing up at the same time. With her muscles pumped from moving the truck, and with her adrenaline flowing, the steel and concrete of the staircase didn't stand a chance. Norma's traps flexed like heat fired bricks. Her always thick delts just surged up and outward like an expanding explosion. The steel bent around her hands as she raised her arms and stepped forward. The old welds of the left support pole surrender first. That support tore free from the stairs completely. The men stumbled as the floor tipped beneath them. It only got worse. Norma tossed the severed support to the ground and grabbed the other with both hands. She pressed her chest to the steel and tugged. Bolts set into the warehouse building failed and the staircase started a slow arching descent to the ground. Norma tugged harder as the landing flew over her head.

Mike went to a knee and picked off two men before the stairs even hit the ground. The last guy jumped off and landed on the ground a few feet away. He rolled a couple of times, and unfortunately ended up near Norma. He brought his gun around until the muzzle pointed right at Norma's chest. He didn't get a chance to pull the trigger. Norma grabbed the barrel and snatched the gun from his hands. The man reached to his belt and drew a hunting knife. He stabbed towards Norma who, despite her bulk, side stepped the move easily. She gripped the man's arm with both her hands and stepped into him. She pulled her left arm back while at the same time pushing her right arm forward. There was just a bit of a lag between the move and a scream that sounded over the crackle of the man's elbow disintegrating. The knife fell from trembling fingers and Norma wrapped her arm around the man's neck. She didn't bother twisting, she just squeezed and flexed. Her bicep inflated. The peak rushed forward and crushed the man's neck like a toothpick in a vice. Caught between her seething forearm and that still growing bicep the man's neck flattened. The bones in his vertebrae actually exploded under the pressure. The blood vessels ruptured and in the end, the man's spinal cord severed. He gasped one last time before Norma opened her arms and let him fall to the ground. "Clear", Norma said into the radio.

"Roger", came the reply from the team leader a couple hundred yards away.

"Let's see what they were doing up there", Mike said to Norma and approached the side of the now stair-less building. Norma put her hands down low for Mike to step into. He didn't even think it was strange for a woman to be boosting him up to the level of the doorway. Mike had been around Norma just long enough for those types of silly thoughts to have left his mind completely.

He stepped into her hands and she pushed him upward like he was a baby. Mike had his pistol in his right hand as he pulled himself up the rest of the way with just his left. Norma was on her tip toes with her arms fully extended trying to help Mike as much as she could. He looked around for a couple of seconds before putting his gun up and pulling himself all the way inside. He was up there for another ten seconds before he came back to the door. "There's intel up here. We can't take it with us, but you can read it." Norma nodded and slung her rifle as Mike lay on the floor and extended his arms down. Norma took a step back and jumped. All 5'2" of Norma flew up until her hands easily reached his. Mike gave a little grunt as he took up Norma's weight. She wasn't much heavier than some of the other guys, but she was so damned compact that it seemed like she was. She put her boots to the wall and walked upward while Mike pulled. Very quickly Norma was up there. She looked around the room and saw all sorts of paper arrayed on a table. She gathered the papers and realized that they were invoices, manifests, and locations. This was a jackpot. Normally they'd have called for the camera to document everything, but Norma was as good as a camera would have been.

Deeper into the compound, the rest of the team had just finished the first phase. All together there were thirteen bad guys dead, zero wounded on either side. There was no time for celebration though. They started opening crates, and from the first one they knew this mission was a homerun. There were artillery shells, machine-guns, and rpg's. They gathered the stuff into a pile and began wiring it. There was going to be a humungous boom in this place in just a few minutes.

Once she finished looking at all the pages, Norma and Mike joined the rest of the team. Norma wasn't a demo expert so she mostly stayed out of the way and kept a watch. There was a moon out so anybody with good enough eyes could have seen the movement in the dark. Norma had her night vision goggles figuring that she'd have been able to see someone else first. She looked left and right just to keep her bearings, and noticed something. She frowned up her little freckled nose and took a closer look.

"Guys, what do you make of this?", she asked after not being able to figure it out on her own. Two soldiers came over. Wariness made them keep their guns at the ready. They moved a couple of empty crates and saw that those boxes weren't sitting on dirt or concrete. Each team member recognized blast rated steel when they saw it, like the stuff that was welded to the hulls of warships. The crates were just camouflage. Each man thought that more weapons could be stashed beneath this steel. They cleared the entire surface, exposing a solid sheet fifteen feet on a side. There were big hoist cables attached and a pulley system that probably used one of the trucks for power. The team didn't have time to pat down dead guys and find the keys to a vehicle. Norma stepped forward without being prompted. She couldn't shoot straight today, but her muscles never failed.

She grabbed the two ends of cable in both of her smallish hands, leaned back, and pulled. Her face turned a shade of crimson as she fought inertia. Veins stood out on her neck as the chains vibrated like guitar strings. Her boots lost traction twice before she finally found the sweet spot. With a girlish growl, Norma started sliding the steel. It ground across the rough cement making a low sound that rumbled chests. She picked up speed as more strength flooded her flexing muscles. Three guys stood by as she pulled, ready to rain death on any threat that lurked beneath this steel. These dead terrorist took some care to hide whatever was below this cover. Whatever was down there had to be important. Those thoughts ran through Norma's head as she pulled back and uncovered a pit. Guns and keen eyes swept the area carefully as Norma stopped pulling.

"No targets", the team leader said. "Just cages", Mike said and jumped down into the hole. Norma came from behind the steel and looked down too see one closed cage and four others that were open. There was bedding inside them and some scraps of food.

"Are they moving animals now?", a soldier asked as Mike moved in for a closer look.

"Umm I don't think so", he said as he reached into an open cage. "Unless some wild animal knows how to properly open Doritos." He pulled out the empty bag and held it up for everyone to see.

"Damn, they're moving people", Norma observed with a chill.

"Search the compound for any crates with people inside. We've got a minute or two before we're ready to detonate."

There was a quick but thorough search of the area that only yielded more cages. With no people to rescue, everyone got to a safe distance. After a short countdown, every farmer in this rural Moldovan area got one hell of a wakeup call. The shockwave knocked down trees a hundred feet away, and virtually destroyed that old freight hauler that Norma had moved. The job was done. It was time to head back to base.

"With all respect, sir, what you're proposing isn't necessary. We are perfectly capable."

Gregg White had listened to his security chiefs but wasn't convinced. Only a couple of days earlier five of Gregg's men had been slaughtered in a most cruel fashion. One man, Gregg was sure, had been killed by a man named Morgen Stern, but the other four had been killed by a single woman. She had to be either gifted naturally or artificially enhanced. Either way she was more than Gregg's men could possibly handle. Gregg knew it, but his men were stubborn and wouldn't understand.

"It's much easier to get new strength serums now. It almost like a better one comes out each month. All we have to do Mr. White is up our dosages and get more…"

Gregg cut his man off with a raised hand. "Strength is only one component and increasingly it's becoming not enough. You men can only get so strong before drugs begin to take their toll. No, I've made up my mind. There is a man who has super soldiers, an army of them, and I intend to have some for us." He paused for effect. "I said, for us", Gregg continued. "I'm not throwing you away, but you will need help in the struggles that are to come. These super soldiers will be that help." The group of men sitting around Gregg sighed almost as one. Their boss' decision was final, and there was no changing his mind.

"So how much are you intending to pay for these soldiers, sir? If I may ask?"

Gregg looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Pay for them? From a Syndicate man?" Gregg slapped the table and laughed.

Morgen Stern was alone in his hotel room typing on his laptop and drinking coffee. LaShaunta had long since gone home. She was a little confused when she left, but resolute and strong. She had some concern about being put in a CIA database or some such, but Morgen told her not to worry. He'd take the brunt of any issues if any had to be faced. That didn't make her feel any better. She told Morgen that he already had too much going on, but she said that she also knew how stubborn he was. She knew he wouldn't back away, so in a complete role reversal, it was LaShaunta who had given Morgen a bit of advice before leaving. She told him to happen to this situation, not let things happen to him. She'd told him to be Morgen Stern. In his mind he decided to just that, as soon as he finished up some prior business, Morgen was going to happen to some things.

He finally stopped typing and reread the email he was intending to send to Karim Azimi's account. The email would be encrypted and these addresses would only get used once, just like this laptop. Karim took his security seriously. Once Morgen was satisfied that he'd conveyed everything he knew about Damteni to Karim, he sent the email and rubbed his sore face. That muscle bound CIA woman had clobbered him pretty good. The beating he could take in stride, but the fact that she could resist his power so easily was a concern. There were a few people who were immune to his gift, like the Broker. And even X-424 could possibly have been immune if her circumstances had been different. Morgen made a mental note to do some digging into that CIA woman's background. It would take some doing, but he'd have time, eventually.

He finished his coffee and picked up his cell phone. The line range twice before a very sleepy voice answered on the other end, "Hello?"

"Good morning Special Agent Miles!" ,Morgen said with extra enthusiasm.

"My goodness do you know what time it is", Miles mumbled and tried to open both of his eyes.

"It's a quarter to six and I would think that a man like you would be up and jogging or working out or something."

"Today's my day off."

"What does that matter?", Morgen asked with a chuckle. "Maybe your laziness is why you got beat up by a nineteen year old girl a month ago."

Agent Miles' bristled. "I'm not lazy!"

Morgen laughed. "So you say, just know that Miss Caufield is going to be awake and on the road for her morning run in less than half an hour."

"Did you call for a purpose?", Miles asked angrily. He couldn't begin to name all the ways Morgen was pissing him off this morning.

"I did. I need you to go to the evidence lockup and retrieve all the files that were confiscated during a Special Programs operation last month."

"Special Programs!?! My clearance doesn't even touch that level. Not even close! I can't."

"You can. This evidence has already been cleared to be given back to the owner, but because of red tape the process would last a couple more months at least. I need you to cut through that red tape and bring me those files this morning."

"Are fucking serious? You're asking me to circumvent Bureau protocol to get you something that doesn't belong to you!?!"

"I didn't ask anything. Make sure you have them all. Meet me in Piedmont Park. Oh, and I'm not into making threats and such, but bad things will happen if you aren't there." Morgen hung up the phone. He wasn't quite sure what Agent Miles would do, but he'd get those files one way or another. It was just easier to have Miles do it.

X-424 wanted to crack a smile as she watched Benny going through reams of paper doing what Jean usually did for him. Jean was still on vacation though and would be for another couple of weeks. The man barely took a day off, so these days were well deserved.

X-424 didn't know why, but Jean had confided in her that he and his ex-wife weren't really exes. The divorce was all for show. Jean just wanted to make sure that his wife and children didn't get dragged down into his pit. He was committed to putting up the charade as long as necessary. X-424 was happy for him. He said that he still loved his wife as much as he had the day they were married. It was stressful to be separated from his family, but all people make some sacrifice or other.

X-424 crossed her shapely legs and kept looking at Benny wondering why he didn't ask her help. He was working his way through it though when the secure communicator started chirping. Benny rolled his eyes and stood up from the table. Once got to the machine he saw that it was just a written message and not a call. "Great. More paper", he said as the sheet printed out. He frowned as he read. "Sweetheart come here please", Benny called and X-424 came quickly. "Now this code here at top of the page matches the code on the screen so the transmission is legitimate, but it's not like anything I've ever received from the Syndicate bosses.

X-424 looked at the message that read simply, "You are required to appear in Charlotte, North Carolina by tomorrow afternoon. The place of meeting shall be transmitted later. Bring your merchandise for inspection."

"This is supposed to be from Syndicate Headquarters?", X-424 asked with skepticism.

Benny sighed. "The numbers match and the distress words aren't in effect. What do you think?"

"I think I will have to watch you closely while we are in Charlotte."

Benny smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "And what do you think this talk of merchandise means?"

"There is only one thing that you have for possible sale", she replied and Benny frowned. "Me", she answered quickly. "And those like me."

"Oh!", Benny exclaimed and laughed. "The super soldiers. I haven't sold a damned one. Well maybe the bosses want to do business. I'll have the guys clean some Series 4s and some Femmes too. I have to get Jeff on that right away." Benny started walking out of the room but stopped suddenly and turned, "And you aren't for sale."

X-424 gave a half smile and pointed towards the table. "I'll finish your work."

Morgen Stern had his hands in a lot of pies this morning, but it seemed like one was finished baking. Special Agent Miles looked like he'd stolen the very last cookie from the jar as he approached Morgen on this brisk January morning. "Here", Miles said and stuffed the box onto Morgen's lap. "That's all of it. Do you know how hard this was for me to get out of the building?"

Morgen opened the box and looked inside just long enough to recognize Moira's handwriting before closing the lid. "If I pretend to care will that make you feel better?"

"Screw you! You got me my job back, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna be a criminal for you", Miles said as he grew angry. "We're even."

Morgen crossed his hands atop the box then drummed his fingers against the lid. "We're never even, Aaron. There's always one more favor." To a passerby Morgen's smile would have seemed genuine but to Miles it was sinister. "Just remember Miles, favors can flow in both directions." Morgen took the box and left.

Norma had just taken a shower and blow dried her hair when she heard footfalls out in the hallway. She ignored them almost as soon as she heard them. She pulled a shirt over her heavily muscled frame and sat down on the single bed. She enjoyed few luxuries here in this old repurposed prison, but her own room was one. Norma was the only woman on the team, so she got a little privacy.

She leaned her head against the wall and picked up her diary. She was forty-five days into this deployment and she'd already used up a hundred pages. She never wrote stuff directly about her missions, and was careful to keep out names and locations. She just needed to work through her emotions. She'd come so far in so short a time that sometimes it caused her head to spin. She'd barely put her pen to the paper when there was knock.

"Specialist Carlton?", an unknown voice called.

"Just a second", she replied and jumped up. She put on some Army sweat pants and pulled open the door. "I'm Carlton", Norma said before she even bothered to look up. When she did she saw the look of amazement on this handsome young man's face. His smile froze in place when he saw Norma's body. Every muscle group stood out in prominence even though she was simply holding the door open. Her triceps were like half-moons in the sky and her deltoids looked like mountain foothills. His eyes lingered on the chasm between her thick pectorals. He'd never in his life seen cleavage quite like that before. The man in the stylish Savile Row suit gathered himself so quickly that only a person as observant as Norma would have noticed.

"I'm sorry to bother you", he said in an unmistakable upper class English accent before he pulled a binder from behind his back. "But I have a question about the invoice dated December 19^th. They say here that the shipment began in Romania, but there's no corresponding manifest from the shipper and they looked to have been quite meticulous for crooks."

Norma took her arm off of the door and stepped back into her small room. The British stranger took that as an invitation to enter. "Which page was that?", Norma asked after sitting down with her right leg curled beneath her which caused the heads of her quads to bulge so much that the sweat pants material turned a lighter shade of blue.

"It was the one with the shipment from Romania", the man repeated.

"The page number in the report", Norma clarified. "I need that number to remember without having to think about all that stuff."

"You don't read the things you write down?", the man asked.

"Not if I can help it", Norma replied with a sigh. "I've seen some sick stuff in the last few weeks."

The man nodded. "Page 37."

Norma's eyes rose towards the ceiling as she thought. "The manifest for that invoice is page 109. I don't know how they got so far apart", she said after a few seconds.

The man turned the pages. "I'll be. Here it is. That is an amazing ability you have, Specialist."

She chuckled. "It got me here", Norma said, leaving it to the stranger to guess whether she liked that or not.

"Well that was easier than I thought it would be. How rude of me, I'm Sebastian Howell." He held his hand out.

Norma smiled and shook it. "I'm pretty new here, but even I've figured out never to ask for names when I meet new people."

Sebastian laughed. "Well that's my real name if you're wondering. It was nice to meet you, Specialist Carlton."

"If we happen past each other again, you can call me Norma."

"I'll do that", the man said and took a step into the hall. "Since we're getting chummy, I'm about to interrogate that Frenchman you captured in Bologna the other day. You can come if you want."

The word 'no' was on the tip of Norma's tongue, but this might be educational. She'd never been present for an interrogation before. "Okay, I'll need just a minute to get dressed."

"You've got thirty. Meet me down on the lowest level." Norma nodded and Sebastian strutted back down the hall. Norma pulled her uniform from the drawer and got her boots from beneath the bed.

Morgen had parked his rented Mercedes near Dr. Ian Brooster's rented Ford. Morgen didn't know much about Ian, but he seemed like a good enough guy. He kept his nose clean and didn't draw attention to himself which was smart since he worked with sensitive information almost daily. Ian was one of the US government's go to guys when it came to dealing with gifted people. He'd tested several since his first test of Jan Caufield three years earlier. Morgen grinned. That girl was involved in so many things in so many ways, but she had no idea. She went about her life in blissful ignorance of the massive wake her actions caused. Morgen had never actually met Jan, nor any of her friends. It would be reckless to do so, but he might have to risk it since it was Jan's temper that allowed Morgen to get his hooks into an FBI agent. That was worth a thank you note at least.

Morgen looked up and saw the target heading towards his car. Ian spent every single night and most of the day by his hospitalized fiancée's side, but he did leave for a time. Morgen watched Ian drive away before getting out of his car with the box Miles had delivered. The box seemed to get heavier the further he carried it. He wasn't even close to recovering from his fight in Bologna.

After the battle in Florida and the death of Martin DeBraya the Feds felt confident enough to relax Moira's protection. That was convenient for Morgen. He just knocked before pushing the big hospital door open. "Good afternoon", he said and walked in with a smile.

"You look like crap", Moira noted with some surprise as she saw Morgen enter. His usually flawlessly handsome face was bruised and his movements slower.

His smile changed to a smirk. "I'm sure this isn't your best look either", he quipped and pulled out his cell phone. "Perhaps you'd like me to take a picture?"

Moira put her hands in front of her face. "Ok, no pictures I get your point." She laughed, which hurt her ribs a little. "So did you bring me a gift?"

"Of sorts", Morgen answered and set the box on the tray table. "These are all the notes that you took on that little puzzle I gave you."

Moira's face lost color. "I… I'm not working on that again. It almost got me killed."

"Oh no no. I don't want you to try and make progress on it. I got these notes so you can change them."

"What?"

"The man who Spencer was working for has tasked me with getting either you to work for him and research this to the end, or in lieu of that to get your notes. I'm already sorry I brought you into this in first place. I'd be damned if I drag you in any deeper. So, this is my best idea at how to get you out… to get you completely out of his crosshairs."

Moira shook her head. "Wait... you're working for him! The man who wanted me tortured!"

"He's a horrible person, Dr. Kelly. Much worse than you even know. My best chance for stopping him is to remain close."

"This is a lot to process", Moira said and rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms on the bed sheets.

"You should see the world through my eyes", Morgen admitted with a chuckle. "Please tell me you'll go through these and change them. Rewriting them would be best. If I knew a forger who was also a master chemist I wouldn't have to ask you, but alas I do not."

"Okay. Change the notes how?"

"Make your work thorough but wrong. Mess up the process that you took. Whatever conclusions you actually came to, change them." Morgen stood up and headed towards the door. "There are fresh notebooks in the box, same brand as the ones you used. Same batch numbers even."

Moira was impressed. "How soon do you need these back?"

"There's no immediate rush. I have to go out of the country for a few days, but you have my number. Just call me when you're finished."

Moira nodded and opened the box. In truth she hadn't thought she'd ever see these notebooks again. It was a good thing that she wrote in her own shorthand. It probably saved her life.

Morgen opened the door then stopped and turned. "I almost forgot to ask, but do you know something called diabenzase?"

Moira's eyebrows arched. "Yes of course I do. It's an old synthetic enzyme that mimics human stomach acid. I'd never actually seen a use for the stuff until you brought me this."

Morgen nodded slowly. "That's how he found you. When you ordered that enzyme, he knew that you were well on your way." Moira just stared at the wall, not knowing what to think. A damned enzyme that she could have made on her own gave her away.

Morgen walked back over and took her hand in his. "It's okay. You're safe now. Nobody's going to hurt you."

"What if changing these notes isn't enough", Moira asked, her eyes tearing.

Morgen patted her hand. "It will be. Trust me. Just make sure you include that enzyme in it to make it convincing."

"Stop squirming!", Norma yelled and held Alain's legs while two men held his shoulders.

"We're going to have to sedate you!"

"Up your ass!", Alain screamed in French. He mixed in some Italian profanity too, but Norma didn't understand any of it. For all her mental prowess, languages didn't come naturally. She was working hard on learning Pashtu and Arabic though. It seemed that those two would come in handy.

"Alain stop!!!", Norma yelled and squeezed his ankles so hard that he screamed, then stopped. The two prison guards looked up with thanks in their eyes. They'd seen Norma in the building, but had never actually met her until five minutes earlier. It seemed that she was as strong as she looked.

When Alain was still, a soldier with a camera came and took pictures of his face from several angles before walking away. With the threat of his ankles being crushed by Norma's small hands running through his mind, Alain was compliant as they tied him to a chair. He had no idea where he was. He'd been on a plane for hours, but it could have been flying in circles for all he knew. The only bit of good news was that he wasn't blindfolded and these Americans had their faces covered. That meant that there was at least some chance that one day he might actually be a free man again.

Two more people came into the room while his jailers stepped back into the shadows. He could feel them there though, feel that big muscled woman just waiting to do him harm. Alain wouldn't be a pushover, but he knew in the back of his mind that he would eventually give these bastards what they wanted.

"We're here to ask you some questions", the interrogator announced in French, which was civilized of him.

"I am not saying anything until I am assured that my father is being cared for medically", Alain replied, staring straight ahead and barely blinking.

"Talking is all you have right now", the interrogator said in english, English english and that made Alain quite nervous. It was one thing to have a single country, albeit a powerful country, against him, but this man represented a new layer of trouble. The man turned out to be reasonable however.

"Your father had minor surgery, but was released from our custody twelve hours ago. He is now resting in a hospital, a free man. Which is what you can be again, if you cooperate."

There it was. Alain had to keep from smiling. He wasn't the one they wanted. There was someone above him, someone bigger that the damned Americans and Brits were after. Maybe it was the blond guy, Morgen. Maybe he got away, but no it couldn't be him. Alain had never actually met him before that night. It had to be something different.

"You used your computer skills to move money secretly from one small bank to another for some very bad people for more than two years now. It's always small amounts and always in different accounts, but add it all up and you've moved millions. That's your little expertise."

"A man has to make a living", Alain said.

The interrogator didn't crack a smile. "Two months ago you moved money for an organization that has been shipping goods into and out of Afghanistan. If you hadn't noticed, there happens to be a war raging in that country. Who contacted you?"

Alain looked around the mostly darkened room and saw that masked woman standing very near him. Her shape was blocky in the uniform, but he knew what she looked like without it. He swallowed a lump in his throat then turned to the man asking the questions. "It was a runner. He met me at a restaurant."

"So no email?"

"You Americans are very good at plucking electrons from thin air. Online communication should only be attempted if you are a professional", Alain replied.

"You're a professional, aren't you Alain?" He shrugged. The interrogator looked at his notes then asked, "How much did you move for them and where did the money originate?"

"I moved a payment from a bank in Georgia to a bank in India." Alain saw the looks in the Americans' eyes and laughed. "The nation of Georgia, not the US state." A breeze formed when every American in the room exhaled at the same time.

"What goods were exchanged?"

"If I knew I would tell you. I deal in 1s and 0s, not in items." Sebastian could tell that they'd hit a dead end. Part of him wanted to turn Alain over to the Italian authorities, but he couldn't. The extraction hadn't been sanctioned by the Italians and they didn't like their residents to be snatched, by anyone. There had been some complications during extraction that left Alain's former apartment building condemned. If the extraction had been silky smooth they'd probably have simply let Alain go, but that had been far from the case. Instead they'd probably hold Alain indefinitely. That was popular these days. Sebastian was about to walk out when Alain spoke up. "They weren't moving weapons, if that's what you are worried about."

"How do you know?"

"Weapons don't have to eat. Part of the order was for pallets of food."

The Americans were worried all over again. While the Afghans were more than capable of fighting for themselves, foreign fighters had become a problem as well. Perhaps Alain's employers were shipping in fighters. "Where was the food sent?"

"Some place in Moldova, or maybe some other place after that I don't know. But it wasn't military rations that I was told to buy. It wasn't even food to suit a particular Muslim diet. Most of it was sweet stuff, cookies and cakes, bags of potato chips, junk like the food children eat."

"Okay", the interrogator said as he stood up. "We're finished here for now. Get him cleaned and put in a cell."

"Why don't you let me go?", Alain asked as the jailers came in to untie him. "JUST LET ME GO!!!!"

Sebastian ignored Alain's pleas. They all cried out after a while, but Alain was rather easy to break open. He didn't fancy himself a martyr or a field man. "So what did you think?", Sebastian asked Norma when they met outside the interrogation room.

"I think you're pretty good at that", she said.

Sebastian gave a half smile. "Better than some, not as good as others. I hope you learned a little something."

"I'm always learning something", Norma replied with a grin.

"So you are", Sebastian allowed with a small chuckle. "I've got to pour over the video of this session and see if I missed anything. Till next time", Sebastian said and walked through a door that lead to a part of the facility that Norma didn't have clearance to enter. Norma didn't even wonder what was on the other side of that door. She probably didn't want to know. She headed back up to her room. Her diary was still waiting.

Benny had never been to Charlotte but made a mental note to come back some time soon. He wanted to take X-424 out, to show her the best time, but this trip wasn't for that. This trip was for business, supposedly. The reasons for this trip were vague, but Benny and a 22 person convoy had made the trek to central North Carolina in three vehicles. Al, one of Jean's assistants was in one van, Ryan one of Jeff assistants was in another. X-424 drove Benny in an unassuming sedan. Benny wasn't sure if she liked driving or not since she didn't comment. They'd made small talk in the car mostly because Benny got bored easily.

They made their way to a nondescript building on the outskirts of town. Benny stayed inside the car while Al and two Series 4 super soldiers did a quick security sweep. Benny got out of the car after the all clear was given. X-424 took up position next to Benny who was dressed casually to allow X-424's look to be natural. While she looked comfortable, X-424 was also concealing several weapons on her supple body. Al kept those two Series 4 soldiers with him, while Benny went inside with the other twenty.

They entered the building to find that the look on the outside didn't correspond at all to the inside. The door opened to a long corridor. There weren't offices on either side of this hall. All the doors opened to two large rooms, one on the left, one on the right. A peek into the left room revealed a group of people near the back. One man was seated with three other men standing behind his chair.

"It's good to see you, Mr. Harris", Gregg said by greeting. He held up his hands. "This isn't what you were expecting?", Gregg asked with a bit of a smile.

"I wasn't expecting anything. Best way to not be disappointed", Benny replied as he stopped a comfortable distance away from his unknown host while the super soldiers lined up in a row ten feet away.

"Wit is always a good defense mechanism, Mr. Harris", Gregg said, letting the slight slide. "I know you have some questions about this meeting." Gregg motioned Benny to an open chair across a small table from him.

"Nothing about this was normal. I've met the members of the Syndicate hierarchy, but I've never met you, so I assume that you aren't actually a member of the Syndicate."

Gregg poured himself some water. "You assume correctly. My name is Gregg White, and I find myself in need of an army. I see you brought one."

"My people think that you're a buyer, but I don't think so", Benny said with some concern as the man looked at the Femmes and Series 4 soldiers standing partially in the shadows.

"What do you think?"

"I'm not sure yet, but anyone who can break Syndicate encryption protocols, doesn't need to go through this much trouble to simply buy something. You wanted me to understand that you're powerful."

"Was this little show of power sufficient?"

Benny looked at X-424 then back over his shoulder to X-412, X-418, and X-422 before he looked back to Gregg. "It was okay."

The host stood up from the chair. "Why don't we inspect this merchandise?" Gregg walked to the Series 4 soldiers first. Benny joined him. The male super soldiers were dressed in identical dark suits. All were freshly shaven and standing at full attention. There wasn't much variety in the look of the men. It was as if a single prototype square jawed man was chosen then copied on a huge Xerox machine. There was talk of strength and endurance and tolerances. Gregg was surprised that Benny had all the answers ready and waiting. He didn't have to ask his associates, although Gregg kept his eyes on the one closest to him.

The brunette beauty was never more than arm's reach away from Benny at anytime. Her dark eyes moved around the room, but Benny never fully left her sight. She was strong and proud Gregg could tell with just a glance. She was used to getting her way which made Gregg smile a bit as he supposedly listened to Benny explain how resistant Series 4s were to injury. In truth Gregg was realizing just how hard it would be for a man like Benny to keep his emotional distance from a woman like the one shadowing him.

Gregg's chief of security was watching X-424 too, admiring her and planning. Security was usually a man's job and people who chose to use women usually did so out of vanity. Having a beautiful, even dangerous looking woman on a man's arm was better than a fancy ring on a finger or watch. They were just accessories though. She wouldn't be underestimated though should something happen. It had been a woman who had killed four of Gregg's men the other day.

Gregg stopped when he came to the Femmes. There were only five of them, but in some way they seemed more impressive than the fifteen Series 4 soldiers standing in the row with them. They weren't taller or bigger, but unlike the men, each Femme soldier wore a different outfit. Some were in dresses, some pencil skirts, and one even wore a evening dress. Benny had wanted to show that these soldiers could be used in a number of roles including undercover work.

"No they rather excel at it", Benny said of Femme's abilities to blend in. "I had a client recently who used a Femme to infiltrate a group, and she was perfect."

"They are all so beautiful", Gregg opined while admiring X-412 who in Benny's opinion was actually the lease attractive Femme. "You've touted their chameleon like ability to blend into normal society, but you never told me how these little ladies fight."

Benny chuckled. "That goes without saying. They're skills are above and beyond. Nobody even comes close."

"Bold statement."

"The truth can be bold on occasion. These Femmes are the best the world has to offer, period."

Gregg nodded while he thought. "How strong are they?"

"Stronger than the men", Benny admitted with a shake of the head. "It pains me to say that in this case the fairer sex is also the stronger sex."

"You know", Gregg said and snapped his finger. "The men of my security team have been taking various strength serums for more than a year. They're pretty strong, stronger than the strongest powerlifter. I'm sure they'd break all the world records if they were to compete. I wonder are these super solders even worth the money? Are they better than what I already have."

"They are the best, Mr. White. There's nothing I can say better than that."

"Hmm, how about a test of strength? One of your soldiers against my guys."

Benny glanced at X-424 before looking to Gregg. "Fine by me. But we'll used a Series 4 instead of a Femme. There's no need for anyone to get hurt."

"Oh don't worry, Mr. Harris. I wouldn't damage one of her Femme's before I bought her."

Benny laughed. "The Femmes aren't who I'm worried about."

Gregg chuckled and ordered his men to prepare a little test they had come up with. None of Gregg's men were laughing though. They were being replaced no matter what Gregg said. The more he leaned on the super soldiers the less he would use them. It was going to come to a point where a normal flesh and blood free will intact man had no place left to work.

Two of Gregg's men brought in a wooden crate and set it down on the floor about thirty feet from the chairs and table. They reached inside and pulled out lengths of chain and some work gloves. "My idea is simple, a little tug-o-war. Let's see who wins."

One of Gregg's men took off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves to show off some nicely muscled arms. Benny chose a Series 4 at random and ordered him to take up one end of the chain and simply hold it firm. Gregg's men stretched the chain to take out most of the slack. Then the one with rolled up sleeves took position and started pulling. The Series 4's arm barely moved. He wasn't even leaning forward as Gregg's man leaned back and pulled with his entire body.

"Impressed?", Benny asked. Gregg didn't reply, just ordered another man to take up some chain and pull. Two enhanced men together caused the Series 4 to straighten his arm a little, and after a furious bit of tugging to widen his stance, but they couldn't move the chain much more than that. Gregg ordered another man to the chain. Now the Series 4 was forced to use both hands to hold the chain still. Benny watched for a few seconds before tapping the Series 4 on the shoulder. The Series 4 gradually released the tension.

"Now that you've seen, let me show you something else", Benny said and walked up to X-422. She was a rather buxom blonde who Benny rated as the fourth best looking Femme and the belle of his sale. He hated getting rid of her, but money was money. She was splendid looking in a tight figure hugging dress and high heel shoes. He whispered some orders to her and she walked over and whispered something to the Series 4 who still held the chain in his hands. He looked over to Benny who nodded.

"I think using two of your soldiers against the three men would be overkill", Gregg said what his men wouldn't admit on their own.

"Yes, probably so. That's why this Series 4 is going to pull with your men." Gregg raised an eyebrow as the super soldier put down the chain and walked to stand behind Gregg's own security men. X-422 lifted up the chain and held it with both hands. At the word go, everyone started pulling. The chain itself stretched like a piece of yarn. Curses flew and muscles flexed, but X-422 held everything.

X-422's forearms rippled and her bare arms thickened. Her face didn't change as three of Gregg's men struggled in front of the Series 4 who leaned back to put his considerable strength into the endeavor. In truth the Series 4 was only pulling with a portion of its strength, just enough for what Benny had in mind. The thick chain didn't stand a chance. The links stretched and warped under the onslaught. X-422 bore down and the Series 4 kept ramping up his strength until the chain failed spectacularly. Sparks flew like a fire cracker and shards of steel flew in all directions. Gregg's men and the Series 4 hit the floor on their asses, while X-422 stood firm and strong. Her muscles were a little pumped after that ordeal, but it was plain to see that it hadn't taxed her greatly.

"Well Mr. Harris, I've seen enough", Gregg announced and slowly walked around X-422. He brushed his hand gently against her hard muscled arm and slowly took in the contours. "I think I will take them all."

Benny couldn't believe it. He turned to X-424 who knew what this meant to him. She gave him a tight smile that went away quickly, but not before both Gregg and his chief of security saw it. It confirmed what Gregg had been suspecting. Those two were more than just guarded and guarder.

"I think we can work out a bulk rate for the lot of them", Benny said with a big smile on his face. "Like at Costco", he laughed.

"You seem surprisingly reasonable", Gregg said and finally took his hand off of X-422's impressive arms. "When I heard what had happened to Jason Mallster and the Syndicate Council I was very surprised. They were always so careful. The Syndicate is a rather bloated and cumbersome organization, but security was something they usually did very well. I suppose it's impossible to account for someone like the assassin Caeda. She ended many lives over her brief career. She set the table pretty well for you." Gregg smiled when Benny's face turned a little red.

"You know what surprised me the most? How desperate the remaining Syndicate Council must have been to choose a lightweight like you to lead their American arm. Mallster had his flaws, but he had a vision. You are little more than a usurper."

Benny's face turned crimson but he kept his composure. "I believe that I have wasted my time coming here. This meeting's over. I can't say that it was a pleasure. Everyone out." All the super soldiers turned towards the door like the best drilled military unit and raised their feet to walk out behind Benny.

Gregg looked at this men and gave a little nod. It was time to put his plans in motion. Gregg pulled in a breath and in a clear voice exclaimed, "Override protocol C." At the very moment the words left Gregg's mouth, his guards drew their guns and pointed them all at X-424. Benny took two more steps before he noticed that his super soldiers had stopped mid stride. He spun and to his horror X-424 had frozen too.

"Oh look at that boys, she's a Series 4.7 too. And you guys were worried we'd have trouble with her", Gregg's chief of security announced. "The boss has this under control." The men put away their guns.

"What the hell is this!?!", Benny demanded angrily.

"How's this for a show of power?", Gregg asked. His face was neutral, but the look in his eyes showed how sinister he was just beneath the surface. He walked up to X-424 who stood frozen in place. Benny stepped towards her shaking as he looked to her beautiful face and into her eyes. Those eyes that showed her intelligence and fierce determination, were blank. Her beautiful brown eyes, the eyes that held her spark of life and defiance were glazed and stared ahead at nothing just like all the others.

Gregg walked over and ran the back of his hand down X-424's jaw. "Don't you touch her!", Benny screamed and started to rush forward when a Series 4 stepped to block his path. That was the warning for Benny to stop. Another step closer and the Series 4 would have attacked Benny like any other threat.

"You are absolutely stunning, my dear", Gregg said into X-424's ear before grabbing her right breast with one hand and a handful of her ass with the other. Gregg gave both a squeeze then kissed his way down the length of X-424's neck. "Perhaps I should keep you for myself like Benny did, or now that I think about it, I might give you to one of my security men." They laughed.

"I'll have my fun with her first though." Gregg put a finger under X-424's chin and raised her face to his. "Kiss me darling." X-424 stretched up and passionately locked lips with Gregg. When Gregg opened his mouth, X-424's tongue slid in. He had no idea how this destroyed Benny's little fantasy. He'd told anyone who would listen that X-424 was different, but Jeff was right. She was just a Femme like the others. Only pride kept Benny from falling to his knees and weeping. Gregg pulled back when he saw the look of defeat come over Benny's face.

"Okay, you super soldiers go with Manny there." He reached out and held X-424's arm. "Not you. I need you to protect me from Benny", he said with a chuckle. "He looks so angry that he might want to do me bodily harm." Gregg and the security laughed again.

Benny couldn't bring himself to look as his soldiers filed out of the large room towards the back of building and out a back door. All his power was washing down a drain. He couldn't begin to wrap his mind around what had happened. Just that fast, everything was gone. "Don't do this", Benny warned, knowing had no leverage. "You'll make an enemy for life."

Gregg and his men laughed. "Life? You're lucky I let you continue to live. The best thing you can do is go back to your little headquarters and pretend you sold these soldiers. Pretend to be in control, but really from here on out you make my army for me", Gregg said as the soldiers left the room. "Ah, Benny you look as though I have taken your last friend!" He looked at X-424 then rubbed his hands over her ass. "Maybe I have!"

Gregg threw his head back and laughed as if this was the funniest thing in the world. After being upstaged by Morgen Stern it felt great to win. He was going to rub it in. Gregg sucked in a breath and let out another guffaw like only best comedians ever heard. Gregg and the security men in the room were so lost in giddiness and celebration that they never saw X-424 until it was too late.

Her hand shot up from her side taking Gregg by the throat, choking a laugh where it began. Her eyes narrowed as she crushed her fingers inward slowly. Her delts rippled from front to back, her biceps tightened, and Gregg's feet left the floor. Gregg's security chief came at her. She backhanded him with her free hand, breaking his jaw in two places. Another guard rushed in and tried to help Gregg. He jumped and grabbed X-424's arm. Her muscles tightened only slightly with his added weight. She'd seen him trying to pull the chain and had calculated just how strong this man was, and it wasn't nearly strong enough.

X-424 reached with her other hand and gripped this guard by the back of his neck. His body tensed as her fingers squeezed. She pulled him away from Gregg whose eyes were losing hope that any of his men could help him. X-424 didn't even glance at the security man as she pulled her arm in closer to her just to fling it outward. The man went flying. He smashed face first into the far wall, leaving a trail of blood as he slid down to the floor. She was just about to turn her full attention back to Gregg when out of the corner of her eye she saw a man in a dark suit running towards her. Anger and annoyance washed across her face as she reluctantly opened her fingers.

Gregg was still in the air. Gravity had barely started to bring him down as X-424 ducked and turned. The lone Series 4 in the building had run back to protect his new master. He aimed a punch at X-424's head, but it missed high. This fight was over already. He'd missed his chance. X-424 pulled her arm back, charging strength into her tightening, flexing muscles before delivering a blistering, time stopping, punch to the center of the Series 4's midsection. Both his arms and legs folded around her fist, which kept going forward, burrowing into his body. He finally ended up on his back ten feet away. X-424 chased him.

The Series 4 bounded to its feet, her punch seeming not to faze him at all. He charged X-424. The two ran at the each other, closing the distance in less than a second. At the last possible moment, X-424 dropped to the ground and raised her legs. Her momentum made her slide on the floor and the Series 4's momentum made it where even with super strength, he couldn't stop. He slid directly into the soles of X-424's shows. She let her knees bend and then she extended her sleek muscular legs, even pointing her toes to add the power of her calves to this push. The X-424 soared, arcing through the room and hitting the wall many times harder than Gregg's guard had done earlier. The wall bulged towards the hallway in the instant before it exploded. Sparks flew from severed electrical lines. There was another boom as the Series 4 broke though the opposite hallway wall. X-424 knew that she'd only bought herself a little time. She stood up and straightened her dress before another boom echoed in the nearly empty room. She Series 4 streaked towards her. He lowered his head and aimed his shoulder at her chest. He'd have taken her down for sure, but this wasn't a fair fight. While X-424 wasn't bound by her programming, it was inside her head. She knew exactly what the Series 4 was going to do before his muscles were ordered to do it.

X-424 spun and raised her arms. The 4 ran into the crook of X-424's right arm. She brought her arm around just as she widened her legs to make a firm base. She gritted her teeth and tensed her entire body. The Series 4's lower body rose off the ground in X-424's clothesline. Then X-424's muscles flexed like none of the others had even approached. X-422's muscles were impressive and even Gregg's guards had nice physiques, but X-424's body put them all to shame. She used the last bits of the Series 4's momentum to twist her body. X-424's abdominals and obliques flexed shaper than razors' edges. With a mighty yell, X-424 uncoiled her body and slammed the Series 4. Both of their bodies were blurs. Then the building shook on its foundation. X-424 drove the Series 4's skull into the floor so hard that concrete shattered for five feet in every direction forming a crater at the point of impact.

Blood splashed out like someone had jumped into a puddle. Gregg was scared into inaction. He watched as X-424 conquered this Series 4 with ease. Her finally scooted backwards as X-424 swept some of her dirty blonde hair from her face and looked him right in the eye. His bladder almost emptied at the sight of her, at her power. She lifted the Series 4's head from the floor. The blood leaked out of the back of its head like water through a sponge, but it was still alive, still a threat. Gregg started to turn away to gain distance. He looked just long enough to see X-424 put her arm around the 4's neck again. He only heard the crack of enhanced bones breaking sound inside the room so loudly that his ears started to ring. He scrambled hand over hand towards the door.

Two legs appeared to block his path. Oh no. He looked up to see X-424 reaching down. "I'm wasn't finished with you", she said as she gripped his neck and once again lifted him high over her head. His feet kicked uselessly. Gregg's eyes turned in their sockets hoping beyond reason that someone would come to save him. Just then X-412 ran into the room. X-424 pulled the hem of her dress up, exposing both of her luscious legs, and a gun. She drew the pistol in a flash and looked down the sights aiming directly at X-412's left eye.

"Stop or I'll kill him just before I kill you", she warned in her Femme voice. X-412 stopped and her programing sought solutions to the problem before her. X-424 knew exactly what to say. "Go to the rear exit door and prevent anyone else from entering. If I see another face come inside this building, he dies."

X-412 turned and hurried to the rear door. The programing knew that it was the best chance Gregg had. No one could get to Gregg quickly enough to save his life. X-412 had to let this play out.

Benny ran next to X-424. The look of love on his face filled the room. X-424 didn't look at him though. She kept her eyes on Gregg. Up close Benny could see the strain on her stunning face. He saw the effort defying these orders required. X-424 had just fought a very physical battle while waging war inside her head too. Benny was so awed that he didn't know how to express it. Very quickly though he figured out what to do. It was time for him to ease her burden.

"I'm quite sorry, but she's rather protective of me", Benny said to a fading Gregg White. "For your sake, I think you should release control of her back to me."

"I… I…", Gregg tried through bulging eyes. X-424's hand relaxed a little. "I release you from my control and give it back to Mr. Harris."

The sweating stopped and she exhaled. "You can't give something back that you stole in the first place", X-424 said with clear disdain in her voice.

"You can put him down now", Benny said graciously.

"Not until he apologizes for what he said about you!", X-424 stated. Benny managed not to smile as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Harris. I really am", Gregg said to save his life.

"Good enough for you, dear?"

"Almost", she said through gritted teeth. Slowly, and very painfully for him, X-424 rotated Gregg's entire body on an angle so that he was looking directly into her eyes. "Now he has to apologize to me."

"But you're just…"

"Going to kill you if your words aren't to my liking", X-424 finished for him then squeezed just enough to cause his face to start to turn purple.

With great effort he managed to squeak, "I'm sorry." X-424 opened her fingers and let Gregg fall to the ground.

Benny bent down and helped Gregg to his feet. The man was rubbing his throat, but it seemed that X-424 had done no permanent damage. "Can we start this meeting over again, Mr. White?", Benny asked. "Forget this unpleasantness ever happened."

Gregg nodded while leaning against the table.

"Great, have your man bring my soldiers back inside one at a time so you can release control back to me. Then perhaps you could explain how in the hell you took control of them in the first place."

to be continued....

Recent Chapters

Chapter 1       Chapter 2      Chapter 3      Chapter 4

There are plenty of others where this story came from.  Please check out the bookshelf for all the past chapters of Power and Fury and my other series.

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