Tuesday night
Safehouse F
I must have fainted with the pain, because all I could remember was the sudden explosion of pain in my stomach and then collapsing on the mat in the large cavern, and then – nothing...
Now though, I was aware of my senses returning and I could hear voices. However, I could not make out what they were saying; nevertheless, I did get the impression that they were talking about yours truly. Keeping my eyes closed, I instinctively relaxed all my muscles, feigning continued unconsciousness as I tried to determine where I was, other than in a bed in the Medical Centre!
I could hear at least three voices speaking. Two were some distance away. Male and female sounding, older than myself, but younger than Miranda. The third was practically right next to me, to my right. It too, was female, but much younger sounding and closer to my own age. I was, just as I had been earlier, naked but for my knickers and covered with a thin sheet.
"Do you think she's a mini you?" The male voice asked. "When I saw her, all my senses were reminding me of you when I first met you."
"Ass! Possibly," the distant female voice stated. "She was armed like I used to arm myself, at that age – when I wasn't wearing my costume. Nevertheless, she undoubtedly knows how to use that gun and knife; they were in perfect condition – used condition I might add. She had a good go at Shadow, but then Shadow refused to respond. I think she might be able to take somebody closer to her size, in hand-to-hand – like Wildcat maybe. It is obvious that she trains; you can see the muscle she has built up – that is not a normal nine-year-old and I should know! It feels strange seeing a girl like that – I suppose you felt similar when you saw me as me. Up until know it's just been the hormonal bitch, over there..."
"Step back Wildcat," the male voice suggested. "Give the girl some space – oh never mind – just don't say I didn't warn you!"
"Relax, Kick-Ass. The little bitch is out cold," the voice that I decided was Wildcat stated. She poked me in the chest, to demonstrate.
Enough was enough – I hated being poked! I tensed up immediately, and opening my eyes, I thrust out with my right arm and grabbed the gauntleted hand as it reached out to poke me again. Then I almost crapped myself...
"Oh, fuck!" I yelled and I froze as three very long claw-like blades appeared just inches from my chest...
"Okay, okay!" I called out in a sudden panic.
Wildcat retracted her claws and I gingerly sat up in the bed. The fight had gone out of me; I was in too much pain and more humiliatingly, I needed the loo.
"I'm sorry," Wildcat apologised, retracting her claws.
"I need the loo – I promise I'll behave..." I said urgently.
"Wildcat will help you – as Shadow said earlier; we're not here to hurt you – if we wanted to..."
"Yes, I know, I'd be dead as the proverbial dodo!" I growled with a weak smile, looking over at the purple form of Hit Girl.
Next to her, stood the immense and very intimidating, armoured form of Kick-Ass and I suddenly felt very small in his presence. Something at the back of my mind told me that I was in the presence of royalty – vigilante royalty.
I noticed that Hit Girl and Kick-Ass both turned away as Wildcat helped me off the bed and over to the attached bathroom. I felt humiliated and embarrassed considering my limited clothing; I could feel myself blushing too.
"That bed sucks; I've spent more than a few nights in it myself," Wildcat said conversationally with her back to me as I pissed my life away.
Once finished with my ablutions, I was helped back into bed.
"Well this is a turn up for the books!"
"Why?" I asked.
"Two raging, murderous kiddies; what did I do to deserve this?" Kick-Ass moaned.
I laughed; I myself was surprised – potentially having somebody that I might actually be able to relate to – somebody who had had similar experiences in their presumably non-existent childhood. I just hoped the girl in the bed did not have a freakin' nutcase for a father – sorry Daddy!
"Psyche, I – I think I know some of what you might be going through. I began my life as Hit Girl when I was six and it has never stopped."
The girl was staring down at the sheet, as she had been since returning from the bathroom.
"You know we can't let you go – not like you are; you're injured..." Wildcat added conversationally.
"I know – I wouldn't last five minutes... Thanks – for saving my life..." The girl muttered.
"You're welcome," Kick-Ass replied.
"Is there anybody we can contact?" I asked with genuine concern.
"She's called Aurora – she's all I got..."
Was that a quiver in her voice? I knew what was about to happen – I had been there...
"I think you need some sleep – we'll check on you later – okay?" I said somewhat hurriedly.
I quickly ushered Kick-Ass and Wildcat out of the room.
"Thank you..."
Just as I closed the door, I heard the tears falling.
"She's hurting badly – she's psychotic most likely or there is some other underlying issue."
I looked over at Cathy.
"You mean that young girl is a fucking disturbed nutcase like me!" I growled rhetorically.
"No – well, yes."
"It's okay to say I'm nuts; I am, but how could somebody do such a thing to such a girl – I always hoped I was the only one; hoped that nobody else had to suffer like I had..."
I was steaming and I ignored the tears spilling down my cheeks as I vented.
"When I find whoever turned that little girl into a cold killer – I'll..."
Dave hugged me as I muttered obscenities and cried. I looked up at a screen in the Command Centre and I saw the girl, Psyche, crying her heart out into the pillow on the floor below us.
This was going to end – no more kids were going to be turned into killers – those people were now at the top of my shit list and that was a privileged place to be. Once it had been Frank D'Amico, then it was Chris D'Amico and then finally it was Ralph D'Amico!
Notice a theme?
Those at the top of my shit list died – eventually...
Late that night
Southern Chicago
Where was the little bitch?
She knew I hated it when she went out alone and she was late. I had tried her cell, but it was dead; I could not get a GPS position off it either.
The girl had been restless and she had said that she wanted to check out the area – I could not stop her; that girl listened to no one but herself! We had been together, as far as we could remember, for six months and we were all each other had; I missed her.
Early the following morning
I was beside myself with worry.
Stephanie should have been back hours ago; she was fully armed, of course, and now that a lot of her training had returned, she was a mobile menace. I missed seeing her on the couch, with her feet up reading a gun magazine – she had recently found that she liked to read them. She would also be listening to some rubbish, like her favourite group: One Direction, on her smartphone with headphones.
I had but one option; I had to find him.
That was not so difficult; I knew where he lived but I just could not bring myself to face him. I also had a nasty idea who else I might find living with him. Yes, I knew he was Kick-Ass and I knew that he was active with Hit Girl – I also knew that he was married to Mindy Macready – the age was about right; she had to be Hit Girl. She would and could tear me a new asshole, even if Dave did not!
My training then kicked in, unbidden – I could control certain parts of it and I chose to use what I needed. For the moment, I needed to be cold and collected.
I needed Dave's help – I hoped he would help me.
Later that morning
Glenview
As per my training, I scoped out the entire area around their house before I chose the right moment to make my way to the gates.
I pressed the buzzer. I could have opened the gates myself, but then they might not have trusted me.
"Hello?" Came the response.
Even over the intercom, I recognised his voice – so many emotions grew and subsided all at once.
"Dave – it's Miranda..."
There was a pause – a long pause.
Then the gates started to move.
"Somebody at the gate? Dave – you look like you've seen a ghost!"
"Heard one actually... Get the kids into the bedroom – we have company..."
I saw Mindy go pale and then she ran towards the living room.
"Anne-Marie, Danny – into Anne-Marie's bedroom now!" She yelled.
That room had armoured doors and deadbolts – it was a panic room with steel shutters for the windows, only I did not trigger them yet. A minute later Mindy was at my side, a mini-Uzi in her right hand and passing a Glock 17 to me. I had just called Marty and as I lowered the cell, I had heard the klaxon sounding in the Safehouse.
I opened the front door with the Glock behind my back.
Earlier that morning
Safehouse F
It had been a weird morning.
I had awoken feeling a little better and I was met by a smiling face, instead of a mask.
"I'm Cathy – you hungry?"
"Yes, I am thank you."
"A very polite young lady; I'm not used to that! First I'll check you over and then I'll leave you to get washed and dressed – there's some clean clothes on the chair for you..."
With that, the woman checked the bandage around my stomach and then she checked the bruising and cuts on my face; she seemed happy and then she was gone.
I eased myself out of bed. As the woman had said, there were clean clothes on the chair – they were not just clean, they were brand new! I made use of the bathroom, where I found soap, a towel and a toothbrush plus some toothpaste – my mouth tasted of crap – not that I knew what crap tasted like, but you get the idea.
Once I had pulled on new knickers and socks, a white t-shirt and blue jeans, I tied the laces on the new trainers and checked myself out in the mirror. I was very uncomfortable with the bandage, but not as bad as the previous night. I looked like crap; my face was bruised and my hair sucked, but I tied it back as best I could.
I headed out the door, following the same route that I had taken the previous night.
I was met at the top of the steel steps by a tall teenaged girl.
"Hi, I'm Chloe – I'll take you to the galley."
I was a little overwhelmed by the welcome considering that I had attacked them only the previous night.
"You're Shadow?" I asked, not expecting an answer.
"Bright little spark aren't you!" The girl, Chloe, replied.
I actually felt myself blushing.
"Stephanie..."
"What?" Chloe asked turning.
"My name – it's Stephanie, but please call me Steph."
"Hello Steph, I'm pleased to meet you."
I could smell food and I was ravenous. One thing I had picked up in America was the enjoyment of large breakfasts! As I followed Chloe into the galley, I suddenly felt a little shy; there were several people sitting at the tables there – and they were all looking at me.
Chloe guided me into a chair between a young girl who was maybe a couple of years older than I was and a tall teenaged boy.
..._...
Chloe introduced everybody.
"Over there is Marty, beside him is Cathy and to your left, is Megan and finally, to your right, is Josh. Everybody, please meet Steph."
There were plenty of 'hellos', but one registered more than the others. It was the teenaged boy, Josh; his accent – it was most definitely not, American!
"A voice from home...," he said with a smile.
"I've not heard a proper accent in years – I miss it."
"You've got a very nice accent, Steph..."
I blushed again.
"Hey! Joshua – she's way too young for you!" Chloe cautioned with a laugh.
Cathy put a plate down in front of me – it was overflowing with food!
"Sorry about the claws last night – you triggered them accidentally!" Megan said with a grin.
"They were very cool – if a bit scary...," I admitted.
It felt good to be able to talk with other kids; yes, they were older than I was, but we all had something in common – unfortunately, that something was nothing good, but I recognised killers when I saw them.
Just as breakfast was finishing, Marty took a phone call and I saw his face turn serious. He jumped up and hit a red button on the wall. A klaxon sounded and he ran down the stairs with a single word shouted behind him.
"Nightingales!"
Glenview
"Miranda..."
It was definitely her – only she seemed different somehow.
"Dave... I need help..."
"You'd better come in, then..."
As soon as Miranda was in the door, I slammed it shut and Mindy stood covering Miranda with the mini-Uzi; I stood well out of the line of fire.
"What are you carrying?" Mindy growled ominously.
"Two pistols and a knife..."
"Table..." Mindy indicated with her head.
I had no choice, but I trusted Dave; I had to trust them both.
The pistols and the knife went on the table, then Dave frisked me – I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I might. Nevertheless, I got straight to the point.
"Dave, I am no longer that woman – 'Night'. That was not me; I still have her memories and some of her skills, but I now have my conscience back. I did wrong – a lot of wrong and I am so sorry... But – She's missing – she was part of the same corrupt program; she's only nine..."
"Who is only nine?" Dave asked.
"Stephanie – she has the same training and..."
I saw Dave and the woman exchange a glance.
"Aurora?" The woman asked; I assumed she was Mindy.
There was no way that they could have known my codename – unless...
"You've seen her?" I was full of hope...
"Psyche?"
Safehouse F
"Stand down!"
It was Marty's voice. I cursed as I started removing what body armour I had already pulled on. As I came out of the armoury, pulling my blouse back on, I saw Steph looking around anxiously; she looked lost, which was a surprise.
"What's happening, Chloe?" She asked.
"No idea!" I replied.
"We have friendlies inbound; twenty minutes..." Marty yelled.
Twenty minutes later...
I watched as the orange lights began to rotate and flash as the vehicle access door opened.
Into the Safehouse came Dave's RS7. He climbed out and I watched as the passenger door opened and I was surprised to see a woman step out; she had dark ginger hair and she was tall, but thin. They made their way through the armoured screen and the moment Steph saw the woman, she ran forwards and jumped into her arms.
I heard tears – tears of joy.
Dave was smiling, but I noticed that something was troubling him. I walked over, but he waved me away.
"Not now, Megan – I'll tell you about it some other time."
I was so happy when I saw Stephanie.
She ran towards me with an enormous grin on her face and jumped into my arms. She cried and so did I. She was also grimacing.
"What is it?" I asked when she finally let me go and I dropped her gently to the ground.
Stephanie gently pulled up her t-shirt and I saw a large bandage.
"Oh, my God!"
"She was in a fight; she was shot and cut with a knife," Dave explained. "You can see the bruising."
It was only then that I noticed the bruising on Stephanie's face.
"You pleased to see Miranda?" Dave asked Stephanie.
"Absobloodylootely!" She replied happily, which I assumed meant 'yes'.
The following morning
Wednesday
Morton Grove
Here we go again!
I wrote the title on the top sheet of paper of my pad: 'STEPHANIE WALKER: INTERVIEW #2'. I then glanced up at the girl sitting across from me; she looked self-conscious, shy and a little unsure of herself – all a surprise after the experience of only two hours previously!
"Are we more in control of our emotions?"
"Yes, ma'am... I am very sorry about earlier... It won't happen again..."
I saw the girl glance over at the hole in my study wall. She went slightly pink in the face. I had to admit, she was trying – she had just got herself a bit agitated and punched the wall before storming out. Now, though, she had cleaned herself up and her hair was neatly up in a ponytail. She was still wearing the new clothes I had bought and not the black getup.
I had picked her up from the Safehouse early that morning to have a discreet and private chat with her. Miranda remained at the Safehouse – she was very tired and needed rest.
"Don't worry; you err, have a lot of anger to work out and I will admit I learnt some new words today!"
Stephanie went a deeper shade of pink. I casually peered down into my purse, where the yellow handle of a Taser was visible and easily grabbed if necessary. I was not alone; Paige was in another room, just in case – with another Taser. We trusted Stephanie, but I knew that she was unstable, as Mindy had once been.
"Let us take things slowly..."
Safehouse F
"Let's start wading through some of the crap Miranda brought us!"
Marty was not happy. Something was off about him; I knew that he had known Miranda from years ago and her turning on everybody as a Nightingale had hurt him.
"On it!" I replied as I began typing. "What the hell is Treadstone?"
Six thousand miles to the east
Tbilisi, Georgia
There was a chime as a new message appeared in the email application.
The well-built man got out of his comfortable chair and wandered over to the laptop. He glanced at the email and grimaced.
"Fuck!"
"What is it?" The blonde woman asked, coming into the room.
"Somebody has just opened a ten-year-old can of worms..."
"Why can't they leave the damn thing closed? It's been eleven years, actually, but who's counting!" The woman replied rhetorically. "Where?"
"Chicago."