Chapter Three: The End Of The World, Part Three
Cold War Era Monarch Bunker, Classified, 2019
The Soldier looked at himself in the mirror. Their new uniform was a mix between futuristic and the standard military uniform they wore. Their combat uniform, gloves, and boots were black with olive helmets, body armor, and padding. Their helmets also had fully covered visors to hide their identities with holographic displays behind them using footage from a very small camera on the front.
All designed and built by Apex's new Weapons and Robotics Division.
Using Jonah's contacts, he came into contact with entrepreneur Walter Simmons. Of course, he didn't trust the man but he had his sights on someone close to him that he could trust but he would cross that bridge when he did. But Simmons was instantly on board when he shared a bit of their data on Shin Godzilla's eventual fifth stage. Only one month passed since the beginning of their working relationship and the new division produced armor and weapons for their upcoming assault on Castle Bravo, or Outpost 54, in Bermuda.
"Simple and effective…" He heard Emma comment from behind him. "The body armor and padding will temporarily camouflage you from the Kaiju… And I heard your men's comments on the weapons from the W&R Division… You should be able to kill them too… But Walter Simmons… Do you trust him?" He told her his exact thoughts on Walter Simmons. "And what about his daughter…?" He told her he had plans for her.
She simply hummed.
Despite their cold meeting in the beginning and her imprisonment, Emma had become a stable part of his daily activity. Especially after he named her Head of Apex's Science Division. She accompanied him to every meeting with all his Heads including Walter Simmons through video as his branch was still on the mainland in Asia but safe from the Kaijus. Her current priority was gathering more data to aid the Weapons and Robotics Division as they needed to survive and fight not only Monarch but the Kaijus. The only saving grace was that Shin Godzilla was still whole.
And he didn't even want to think about the other monsters.
"Maddie asked for you in the training hall…" Emma said quietly before she bit her lip. He was thankful his visor was still down to cover the rolling of his eyes and his quiet sigh.
Maddie… Madison had taken on a strange relationship with him since the report he showed her on Shin Godzilla and Shin Mothra. Gone was the rebellious, loudmouth bratty preteen but more reserved. Her witty responses stayed but there was no true heat behind them and she listened whenever he told her to do something such as cleaning her side of her and her mother's room as the prison cells were moved to a more fitting prison room.
She also followed him around.
To meetings with her mother. To speak with officers and men. To training. To his office where he typed reports. She would follow him, stand or sit, and watch. And for some strange reason… she would imitate him. At first, he thought she was mocking him by telling off soldiers slacking but when she knocked both of them down with a MOVE he's done several times during training, he knew she was attempting to impress him. He rolled his eyes when he saw her do that but told his men to do as she said since he would have told them the same, gave them a dressing down for being beaten by a preteen girl, and simply nodded at Maddie-Madison. He should have realized his mistake then and there but it had been too late.
She was pleased with his approval.
But really he knew she just wanted something to do. He wasn't naive. He knew his men were bored. Hell, he was bored. But he would settle for boredom then the horrors out there and they all knew things were going to get intense soon. So he gave Madison several duties as if she was one of his men which caused his men to jokingly call her his kid. He wanted to punish them for it but he knew it was too late and it would only encourage them further so… he let it go.
He told Emma he would go.
She said nothing but nodded and returned to her and her daughter's bedroom with reports of her own.
After leaving his bedroom and walking down several hallways, nodding to several saluting men, he found Maddie-Madison in the training hall. He waved his hand lazily to the men who prepared to stand at attention, signaling them to relax, as his eyes landed on the girl he had been searching for.
Maddie-Madison was sitting on a bench, examining one of the new all black semi-auto rifles from the W&R Division. It was unlike any weapon he had ever seen or used before. Sleek and energy based. He couldn't believe it. He didn't believe it. Not until it arrived and he had been the first to use it in front of everyone. Energy based projectiles theorized to be capable of taking down the future Kaiju army.
Until they evolve again…
But he ignored that cynical thought and made his presence known to the preteen girl. Instantly, she sat a bit straighter and her eyes lit up. He told her the same as his men, to be at ease, and she did. Only slightly. He then began to tell her about the weapon. He wasn't sure how their R&W Division made the weapon but if it worked…
"Sounds like one of those old sci-fi movies my dad used to watch…" Maddie said quietly with her eyes lowered at the rifle. He chuckled lightly and told her he loved those old sci-fi movies too. A small smile appeared on her face before it disappeared again. He then told her he'll try to avoid killing her father.
To give him a chance.
"No… I…" Maddie swallowed. "My mom used to tell me my dad left us because he didn't love us… I never… I didn't want to think that was true… But he never tried… He… And what my mom did… What she made me believe… I'm mad at both of them… More for my dad… Less for my mom… But I'm mad at them both… And I feel like my mom will go right back to caring about her work more than me…" Tears fell from her eyes and she wiped them away quickly. He said nothing before taking the rifle from her. He told her he didn't know her dad but he knew her mom and he was sure she loved her at least. He told her he would talk to her mom and make sure that didn't happen again though. He then asked her if she wanted him to teach her how to shoot. Her tearful eyes snapped to him…
She said nothing but simply nodded with a small smile.
The end of the first arc. I understand if the story is going slow or even too slow without any appearances from the monsters but the story will pick up in the next arc and I'm excited for the arc after that as it will be nothing but filled with monsters. For this chapter, you can already see a bit of canon Godzilla vs Kong bleed into the story. More from that film will but you'll have to wait and see...