Species: Angel of Vermin

by WeAreHarbinger

(THIS STORY TIES IN TO SPECIES: THE SURVIVOR) Sil regenerated herself from a Rat in Los Angeles, and has remained in the shadows ever since. Over the years, an urban legend has emerged in her wake, the urban myth of the Angel of Vermin. Now she dwells in the alleys and abandoned places of a dystopian New York, an alpha predator in the shadows, but her true test lies ahead of her.

9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9: WHISPER'S WAR: THE ANGEL RISES (Flashback Part. 2)

(SIX YEARS EARLIER)

MURMANSK - NORTHERN RUSSIA

Over the past month, Paris, Barcelona and Zurich had turned up nothing, during that time things had only gotten worse. Seventeen more names from Dalton's list had been taken and they had not been able to engage Gaunt or any of the others he was working with. To make matters worse, three more Whisper communes had been attacked.

While they had initially taken Paul Wiseman to the Whisper Communie in Provins, the picturesque town outside Paris, everything had been uprooted shortly thereafter. All locations, the communes, safe houses, routes, and stations were either relocated or shut down entirely. Whisper Stations, sometimes called Watchtowers, Bureau's or Shelters were located in most cities, all were either on high alert or had been temporarily closed down.

Amitra had rallied four entire Whisper Covens to their defence. For their part Maya, Nikki and Connar were now the tip of the spear in the mission to find and eliminate those responsible. Amitra had done this with a single word. A word that had struck fear into the Sighted for generations, one that the Whispers had adopted as a code word for the most dire of circumstances… Malleus. It was a signal to scatter and shelter, and for those capable, a call to arms.

They had parted ways with Amitra, Rust and Matilda in Zurich. Amitra and the others had headed to Greece while Maya, Connar and Nikki had travelled North.

Their journey had led them across Europe and into the Murmansk Oblast, a place within the protectorate of the "Sud'ba Storozhit'" or Fate Guard. They were one of the oldest and most hardened Whisper Covens in existence, dating back to the 7th century, two hundred years before the formation of the Kievan Rus'.

It had been a long time since Maya had visited Murmansk. The Hero City on the shores of the Kola River. The last time she was here, she and Connar were on the run for their lives, being hunted by Project Morrigan after she got him out. Thankfully, this time, they had arrived here in the summer.

There were no names on a list here, they were here to regroup more than anything else, and await word from Amitra. All of the remaining Morrigan operators "The Ravens" had come out of the woodwork and spread out to defend communes and Shelters.

Although she never voiced it, Maya found Nikki fascinating. Though she had initially felt Nikki's trepidation about getting on the plane and leaving her comfort zone in New York. She had proven invaluable. The Whisper Commune outside Zurich had been attacked, once again by contractors, though these one's were not tied to the US Military, they were an amalgamation of smaller crews with capture-or-kill orders.

That Commune had only been recently established, and so wasn't as well defended as the one outside New York. While the others had hurried to prepare a defence, Nikki had met the attackers head on, her incredible senses and her savage prowess had saved them once again.

Whoever was behind this, they had not hit any communes in Russia yet, possibly because they knew the size of the sleeping giant they would wake should they do so. For their part Nikki and Connar seemed to relax somewhat once they arrived, a little too much for Maya's liking. The Whisper Shelter in this city consisted of five apartments in a residential tower block just off of the main Severomortsev Avenue. The block opposite was distinctive, one of several throughout the city that had a giant mural of a soldier covering the entire side of the building.

The Mural was similar to the Alyoshka Monument which stood high on a hill overlooking the harbour. Reminding all those that travelled up the river that this was a Hero City. They had spent the evening at one of the local Gogol' a basement bar, where they had taken the opportunity to blow off some steam with several members of the local Whisper contingent. When it got around to 2am, Maya had headed back, as had several of the others, but Nikki and Connar had headed off somewhere by themselves.

Maya awoke briefly, hearing then come in, it was nearly 3:30am. The pulled the covers over herself and allowed herself to drift back to sleep. She had no idea how long it was before she was abruptly awoken again by a loud thud and a deep guttural growl, similar to what she had heard Nikki utter in her "Terminus" hideout when they first encountered one another. Maya had not seen Nikki take her true form since.

She heard Connar half laugh and shout "Hay! That's mine! Gimme that back!" but his voice was muffled like someone was holding a hand over his mouth. There was a louder growl followed by a loud crash and she heard Connar yelp.

"Hay, What the hell! Pack it in both of you before you wake up half the block" Maya called out, she got no answer and grabbed the blanket, but no sooner had she swung her legs out of the bed than she hard Connar yelp again "Hay!" and another, even louder growl, more like a roar and then a loud thud. Maya jumped back as five razor sharp serrated spikes burst through the wall at roughly waist height.

There was silence for a moment then a low growl began. She heard laughter "Ha! Ohh shit!" Connar uttered in an amused but hushed tone, almost like a teenager realising he just broke a window with a football. Then the growling got louder accompanied by a scraping sound and Connar began to chuckle "Shit, are you stuck!? Are you actually stuck! Ha! Shasklik Karma!".

Maya could hear him laughing louder as more grinding thumping noises continued, followed by the sound of a glass breaking. Maya had finally had enough of whatever was happening.

Maya marched through into the living room area, already annoyed "What the bloody hell is going… Whoaa holy fuck!".

Maya stopped in her tracks at the sight. Unlike last time, the room was lit, albeit dimly, and now she saw Nikki fully in her true form. She appeared to be wearing only a sports bra and loose shorts to cover herself, the rest of her clothes were on the floor in the corner. Connar was also stripped to the waist. It was more than Maya was prepared to see upon entering the room, still half asleep.

Nikki's body had a strange translucence to it and an elegant chitinous carapace lined with ridges that gave it a hyper feminine definition. Her hair was now a thick clump of ridged, but fleshy tendrils all neatly folded back but appeared to be moving independently. Nikki was wedged awkwardly between one of the two overturned sofa's and the wall. The bladed spikes on her back were firmly embedded.

Everything was in disarray, even the lamp had taken a dive. Nikki was stuck and was struggling to dislodge herself while Connar was picking himself up off the floor in the corner. There were claw marks all around Nikki in the wall.

It wasn't until they both went quiet and stared back at her that Maya realised she was staring "Sorry… I've just never seen you properly like this…" Maya collected herself "What the hell is going on in here?".

Nikki stared back at her for a moment, then slow-blinked like a cat before continuing to struggle. All the while, she was issuing grunts and growls.

Connar picked himself up and wrapped his arms around Nikki, Maya could see from his flushed complexion that he was a little drunk. Nikki wrapped her legs around him but her arms were still braced against the wall, she began to growl louder "Alright, I'm trying to get you out, hold still". "Will you keep it down!" Maya hissed "For fuck's sake if someone calls the cops we'll have to…". Before Maya could finish the sentence, Connar managed to pull Nikki free from the wall.

He lifted her up, but then lost his balance and they both collapsed in the middle of the room "Great, well done, at least clear this up, I'm going back to bed". "Night Maya" Connar called after her, again, a little too loudly. "Just keep it down!" Maya groaned as she made her way back around to the bedroom.

Maya crawled back into bed, still trying to wrap her head around what she'd just witnessed. Over the course of the past few weeks, she had been around Nikki near constantly, but always around others, Maya resolved she was going to use this relatively quiet period to try and get to know her better. Tomorrow, she'd have to find a way to get Nikki to come out with her alone. Maya had only morsels of information about Nikki's life, but there was now a near insatiable curiosity to know her.

---

When Maya awoke, it was already midday and she knew that she, too, had overdone it. She decided that she wouldn't even look in the apartment's living room before she got a shower. After she did, she was actually surprised to see that they had cleaned up the mess they made. That wasn't all, the place was quiet and she couldn't sense either of them in the apartment or nearby. "Where the fuck are they now?" Maya groaned to herself as she wandered over to the window and pulled back the curtain, letting light into the room. This building had a fairly decent view of Lake Semyonovskoye.

It was a Sunday and thus, the traffic was much quieter. Maya saw a lone figure sitting on a bench by the lake and realised it was Nikki. She looked around and realised Connar wasn't around. Maya was fairly sure where he was. Connar had someone he needed to see, and Nikki had obviously chosen to remain here. Maya decided to take the opportunity to join her.

---

Last night had been fun. Nikki had to admit to herself, despite the dire circumstances that brought about this venture, she was enjoying all the new places and people. This morning they had woken around mid morning. After getting ready, Connar had gently explained to Nikki that there was somewhere he needed to go, and that he needed to go alone.

Nikki understood what it was without asking, he had mentioned it when they were in Barcelona. It was no accident that they had come to Murmansk to regroup. Katya Antonova's Father was here an influential Whisper who oversaw their operations across a large portion of Eastern Europe. He had been putting off speaking with him. Connar and Katya had been close, and Connar blamed himself for her death. Nikki understood that he needed time with this. For her part, she was content to relax in the fresh air by the lake, later perhaps, she would wander the city.

Nikki sensed Maya coming clear across the street so it came as no surprise when she asked "Mind if I join you?". Nikki looked up and made a show of only just noticing Maya's presence "Sure". Maya moved around the bench and sat down "Where did Connar go?". Nikki suspected Maya may already knew and was trying to make conversation, but told her anyway "He went meet Katya's Father on the hill by the Alyosha monument".

"We all loved Katya" Maya said in a solemn tone "She always did love to dance". Nikki could sense her emotions as Maya went quiet for a moment and stared out across the lake. "I'm not used to showing… what you saw". "You don't trust easily do you?" Maya asked. Nikki met her gaze "It's how I survived this long".

Maya did something then that Nikki didn't expect, she shifted closer "Nikki, I don't know who you are, not really, and I don't know what you are… but I see the way you are together you and Connar. He's happy, it's been a long time since I saw that. You saved us in New York, you warned us of the attack in Zurich… You may not trust us… but other Whispers are starting to talk, they're starting to look up to you".

"They see me as something I'm not" Nikki had known this conversation was coming since Zurich, she had overheard some of the things they said when they thought she wasn't listening. She knew that word had been spreading throughout these "Whisper Covens" since New York. Matilda, the younger Whisper who had caught onto it, and no doubt Paul was talking about it too, he had been very exited once he learned she was the one behind the urban myth.

"The Angel Protects" was now spreading among their numbers too. They were also saying things she didn't understand, she had kept quiet about it up to a certain point, but she was growing concerned when she overheard the phrases such as "Kyteler Foretold" and "The one who rose from the fire" and most concerningly "Scion of the Dark".

One elderly woman in a Whisper Shelter on the border of Estonia had actually called her the latter to her face. Nikki had heard it a number of times and was getting annoyed. No doubt her comments to Amitra about being burned had spread. She had had enough by that point and rounded on the woman, shouting "Excuse you?" before Connar and Maya had stepped in and ushered them apart.

"I hear what they say" Nikki began "Even when they think I don't… I told you then we met, I have no idea what I am". "That doesn't matter" Maya said matter of factly "Don't forget, Most of us are Sighted, and some Whispers descend from those accused of witchery and heresy back in the day, traditions carry, we can be a superstitious lot".

"You'd think that would make you the opposite of superstitious, since that was the root of all your troubles in the past" Nikki almost chuckled. "You'd think, but traditions die hard, especially in a group that's remained in the shadows for generations. They haven't seen you as I have, but they have seen you in action, they see how hard you fight to protect those you stand with".

Nikki felt a weight she didn't want, it was true, while the urban myth had grown around her, she had learned to avoid it, this was fast growing beyond her control and, for the time being, she was stuck with it "No offence, Maya, but I've only ever fought for myself, to stay alive… I saw those guys coming and fought back, that's all". "Then why did you save Connar in New York… twice? Why did you help Paul? Connar has mentioned how you help people on the streets, you stamp out trouble when it starts…You may have a darker side, but that makes you no different than the rest of us".

"I spent so long keeping that side of myself hidden, I learned to control it. I… When I lost my baby, they thought they killed me too, Maya. Now, here I am, running all over the world fighting with you… if the wrong people figure out I'm still alive they'd hunt me down like an animal, I'd never have peace".

Nikki found the next part the hardest to say "And… it's not just because of what I am… but for things I've done". Nikki paused, Maya leaned forward and put her hand on Nikki's shoulder "I heard you talking to Paul before we got on the plane… we've all done things we regret" Maya began, but Nikki cut her off "I killed innocent people, Maya, I killed a girl in a club because she looked at a guy I was talking to… I killed a woman named Marlo Keegan to fake my own death… I killed a man called John because he MIGHT have alerted the people who were after me… I killed the father of my child for the same reason, because he figured out who I was and freaked out… killing used to be my go-to answer to everything… and I don't even know why I'm telling you all this".

Maya seemed to take a moment to process what Nikki had told her "Does Connar know all this?". Nikki nodded "...and now so do you… I should've died for the things I did… but my baby died instead".

Nikki didn't know why she was saying it, but once that floodgate opened, she couldn't close it, she had a lump in her throat and her eyes were stinging, the pain of that night in Los Angeles rose to the surface, she had forever left a part of herself beneath those streets. Physically she had found that she could heal from any and all wounds… all except one.

Nikki felt Maya's hand on hers. Nikki went on to tell Maya what happened in Los Angeles and in the years leading up to her finding Connar. Maya didn't interject, nor did she appear to judge, she just listened.

Nikki finally stood up and made her way over to lean on the railing, wiping her eyes. She watched the water and took a long deep breath, aside from Connar, she never imagined talking about her past to anyone.

"I'm glad you're with us Nikki" Maya said behind her. Nikki had imparted all of her truth to Maya, there was only one more. "Sil" Nikki uttered, then turned to face Maya "My real name… it's Sil". Maya stared at her for a moment and then smiled gently. Nikki sensed Maya's rhythms, they were steady and true, she exuded a warmth and confidence that was infectious.

"My real name is Maya Durand" she finally said standing up off the bench "I was born in Romania. My Mother was a diplomat in the French Embassy, my Father was an assistant to the Ambassador from India… I was taken by Project Morrigan when I was very young". Nikki knew that this was Maya's way of showing her that she could trust her, she was going to tell her story as well. "The first person I killed was young man with red hair and freckles… I tried to find out his name but there were no records… that was my… graduation".

Nikki knew about this, the "Graduation" of Project Morrigan was a test of loyalty, they point, you kill… or you die. "After that they sent me out into the world, a businessman named Danial Strickland, a diplomat named Vanessa Redfern… when I saw the chance, I got out… Connar had told me that his family was connected with Whispers, so I sought them out. I linked up with his sister and from there we contacted Amitra and started intercepting the others when they were on their various assignments. That man you met in New York was one of the Project's head overseers, he would take Connar out on assignments, and treated him like his own personal attack dog".

"You led them on Day Zero" Nikki said, she already knew. Maya's eyes dropped and she nodded "That was a hard day. We lost a lot of our friends, but we saved many more… Some of the others took their revenge, Connar included. I never saw so much blood before or since that day". Maya paused and now she stared out across the lake, lost in the memory.

A few seconds later, Maya physically shook it off, collected herself and turned back to meet Nikki's gaze "Well, now that we've shared our cheerful histories, Connar is likely going to be with Demitri all day, so how about we try to find some fun around this town?".

Nikki looked around "It's Sunday, what's around here? Another Bar maybe?". "Please, my hangover from last night hasn't quite subsided yet Nikki" Maya said "There's a mall on the other side of the city, I'm sure we could find something there?".

Nikki allowed herself to truly relax with Maya for the first time as they made their way back to the garages "Sure… and while we're there you can tell me all about this Kyteler woman I keep hearing about". "Ahh, I knew Connar wouldn't have mentioned that little Whisper Saga to you…he hates it.. Actually, maybe hate is a little strong, it irritates him".

"What is it?" Nikki asked, and why do people keep saying "Kyteler Foretold" whenever they think I can't hear them. "Oh, are you sure you're ready for this, Nikki, after all, we were doing so well" Maya smirked. "Hit me with it, whatever it is".

Maya brought the Car out of the garage and as she drove, she relayed what she knew "Ok, so like I said, Whispers can be superstitious… Alice Kyteler threw off her title of Dame when she went on the run in 1324, she died in Scotland in 1378 and the age of 97". "Wow" Nikki said "Impressive for back then". "Indeed" Maya replied, then continued "She was potently Sighted and in her later years she began to receive visions, she wrote the Whisper Codex, but she also wrote all her visions". "I don't know if I like where this is going" Nikki said, remembering all those hushed tones and half stares in the Whisper communes she'd visited.

Maya went on to tell her that Kyteler made a number of predictions in her final years, some of the events had been matched up with the rise of Project Morrigan, as well as other world events, the World Wars, the attacks on New York, the Pandemics, but most concerning were the ones that spoke of "One who stood Unburned, who would decide the future of all who dwell under the Sun".

When Nikki had asked why Connar hated hearing about this so much, she had been genuinely surprised when Maya had told her that a Seventh Son was mentioned in a number of Kyteler's visions. Connar had Six brothers and two sisters, he was the Seventh Son in his family. To the rest of the world, the Bradens were just an Irish traveller clan, some of whom had criminal records for various capers, but to the Whispers, they were practically royalty, even though they constantly clashed with Council members, their deeds over the centuries were legendary.

Seventh Sons and Daughters were a rarity nowadays, even among all the various Whisper Covens, as such, when Connar followed Maya into their order, he had been put under a lot of scrutiny and pressure for leadership one day, something he neither wanted nor was prepared for after escaping Morrigan, so he had pushed himself to the periphery of the group and focussed on cleaning up all the remaining members of Project Morrigan, rarely utilising Whisper resources and instead, he would lean on his own contacts that he developed in the underworld or intelligence organisations.

"Don't blame Connar for not mentioning it" Maya said "To be honest, I can see why he stayed so quiet after what happened in New York". "We already agreed" Nikki said "We're gonna finish this and then we're going back, we had a good thing going in my city". "Your City is it?" Maya laughed. Nikki joined in with the laughter "Haven't you heard, Maya, I'm the Angel on those streets".

"So are we gonna talk about how you transform yourself like that?" Maya asked. "Not much to tell, it's just a thing I've always been able to do, everything feels like lightning when I'm like that, everything is sharper, more focussed". "Does it hurt when you do it?" Maya asked. "No, it feels like sinking or falling, then every sense dials up to eleven". "Yeah, you looked real focussed last night" Maya quipped. Nikki began to laugh "Yeah, sorry about that, we cleaned up after we… well, you know…".

Maya smirked and shook her head as they drove. Nikki found it hard to make friends on account of her lack of trust in other people, the few friends she had around New York had no idea who and what she really was. She had seen how these Whispers lived, she had heard a lot about Maya and saw how she would absolutely walk through hell and back to protect those she cared about, Nikki had to admit to herself that she was beginning to relax and enjoy the company of others for the first time. Not since Detroit had she been known to this many people.

---

Nikki and Maya had been getting to know one another all afternoon, visiting a Mall was probably the most normal thing Nikki had done in a while, even if it was a Mall on the other side of the world from where she started.

"So how many of these Whisper Covens are there?" Nikki asked "And why are they called Covens? Isn't that a little… dated?". "Ohh, that usually highly classified information, Nikki, but since you've already seen so much… there are 12 Covens.

Each with their own traditions and storied history… before the early 14th century, they were split into dozens of smaller divided groups, who often fought against one another for dominance, Alice Kyteler changed all that, she united them into five Covens at the time, the rest came alone with the age of expansion and colonisation of the New World. The order spread across the Middle East and Asia… At the time, the church was hunting us, they called us Covens, we took the name and made it our own".

Nikki listened as Maya told the story of how the Whispers were formed into their modern iteration. The survivors of Project Morrigan were world class operators in the fields of espionage, combat and assassination, but each of the Whisper Covens also had a dedicated combat force with similar training known as "The Watch". Many of the Morrigan survivors now oversaw these forces.

Nikki was surprised to learn that there had even been a Whisper Civil War at one point, which simmered through half of the 19th century, before degenerating into a campaign of sporadic violence at the end of World War 1, and lasting all the way up until the 1990's. A breakaway faction known as "The Ascendency" were a radical group who sought to destroy and reform world governments, placing sighted individuals in control. The people behind the original Project Morrigan were the remnants of this radical faction.

They believed that, as the next step in human evolution, it was the birthright of the Sighted to take control of the population by force, little did they realise that such an action would only lead to more district and persecution. Eventually, the Sighted would be in the majority and at that point, humanity would be ready for the changing of the guard.

Nikki took it all in and then thought of another question "So how does it work, do they have numbers? Names? PO Boxes?".

Maya smirked, took a bite of her food and sat back "In times past, they all operated independently, but now there's a system, a council. Each Coven comprises a number of smaller clans or "houses", usually the older, established families. The heads of the 12 Covens together form the Conclave, they oversee the group as a whole. The ones you see in the communes are the sighted people we find, they are not bound to stay, but they can choose to become part of a house. A lot of Kids like Paul come to us, kicked out of foster care, bullied for being different, we take them in, educate them and care for them".

"Are you on this council?" Nikki asked. Maya laughed "No, not me, one day maybe if Amitra has her way. She's on the council, as is Dimitri Antonova, the Man Connar is with right now, he's a deputy director of the SVR".

"What about Connar's family?" Nikki asked. "Where do I begin" Maya smiled "They call them the Bloody Bradens for a good reason, you look far enough back in the Whisper Sagas from even before the Covens were formed, you'll find references to the Bradens going all the way back to the Roman invasion of Britain".

"I thought they came from Ireland originally?" Nikki asked. "They did" Maya said "The Iceni, British tribe who rebelled under Queen Boudicca sent a messenger across the Irish Sea offering the Bradén clan lands and gold in return for fighting the Romans". "So, they were mercenaries?" Nikki asked.

"They were much more, they were feared across the Isles for their ability to predict enemy movements, strike and vanish like ghosts… they were potently Sighted, and they knew how to use it. One of the first clans to actively use it in warfare".

"Didn't that rebellion fail?" Nikki asked. "Eventually, yes, but the Braden's didn't get the memo, they kept fighting… their clan were later responsible for the disappearance of the 9th Legion. After that, their reputation reached new heights, they were hired out to every Warlord from the northern tip of Scotland to the Mongolian steppe".

"What about Amitra?" Nikki asked. This question caused Maya to pause for a moment "Amitra… they used to call her the Tiger of Dharavi… by the way, don't mention that to her, she dosen't like it". "Don't worry" Nikki said "I won't, she kinda grew on me while we were travelling… why did they call her that?".

"I don't know how much of it is true" Maya said "After the partition of India, Whispers were active in the region for years, it was chaos… they started hearing rumours of men being found gutted in the Dharavi Slums in Mumbai… just after the third man was killed, they found Amitra… 10 years old, covered in blood, holding a broken knife, staring back at them with dead eyes so the story goes, those men had used her… so she hunted them down one by one and killed them". "Fuck" Nikki breathed "I got the sense she was fierce but… wow".

As they explored the Mall, Maya continued to talk about the Whispers and their history. Nikki learned so much that she hadn't expected, some details about Project Morrigan and Whispers' history almost unbelievable.

Their notable members throughout history included Henry Avery, the "Arch Pirate" who famously raided the Grand Mughal convoys, relieving them of an estimated £115 million in precious jewels before disappearing. He was secretly Sighted and his wealth would bolster his Coven, the "Teach na Préacháin" (House of Crows) for many years and allow them to expand their operations.

Nikki also found out that Maya, Connar, Matilda, Rust and a few others she had met were part of this particular Coven, one of the oldest, which included Kyteler herself, Amitra had been brought into this Coven because the Whispers had taken her to be educated in the UK, she had later risen to become it's leader.

When Nikki asked if there was a Whisper Coven that covered New York and the New England Region, Maya had told her of the first Western Coven established in the late 17th century known as the "Nimihkwi'kwe nitew" (Algonquin: House of Shadows) One of their most prominent historical leaders in America was a woman named "Violet of Salem" who's only appearance in any official historical record was in the last will and testament of one Samuel Parris, the infamous Minister of Salem Massachusetts. She was the highly sighted daughter of Tituba, his native American slave, with whom he had had a secret daughter out of wedlock.

Tituba herself had been left to rot in Boston Geol by Parris and later bought out by a member of the fledgling West Coast Coven who got her to safety in her remaining years.

Violet would go on to become a key figure in the early Whisper expansion into America, she found and rescued many Sighted individuals and worked with the Native American tribes to establish underground railroads.

Whether they knew it or not, other underground groups would later use the covert systems she created to smuggle freed slaves out of the southern states.

When Nikki asked how come Amitra was running the show at the New York commune and not the leader of the East Coast Coven, Maya had told her that the Conclave was backing Amitra and she was running point on the operation to find those responsible while the others focussed on tightening security and providing logistical support. According to Maya, the leader of the East Coast Coven had recently passed away, he was none other than the deputy director of "Special Activities Division" at the CIA. As a result, many intelligence resources had gone with him. Their current leader in New England was a young woman named Veronica Noodin, the ACAC (Assistant Special Agent In Charge) out of the FBI Boston field Office.

Agent Noodin had been the one who passed information on Joaquim Dalton's whereabouts to Connar and Katia. In the wake of Katya's death and Connar's disastrous attempt to kill Dalton, Noodin and her people had quietly swapped or contaminated DNA samples and disposed of ballistic evidence. Otherwise they ran the risk of Connar's DNA being linked to his siblings through a familial match.

Despite this Whisper being an Agent with the FBI, Nikki was already curious to meet her one day. The more they talked, the more intriguing this whole thing became.

---

VIRGINIA - U.S.A.

Where was Melissa? Patrick thought, the last thing he remembered, he had felt strange the evening before and decided to drive over to NSEG and see Dr Orinski, he remembered getting into his car, he remembered driving, but he didn't remember arriving, checking in, seeing Orinski or anything until the moment he awoke. His entire body was wracked by pain, it felt like worms crawling beneath his skin and his muscles tightening beyond any normal measure. "Melissa!... Are you here?". He remembered now, she was preparing for another big event and had left in the early hours. She likely wouldn't be back until later.

Patrick gritted his teeth and pulled himself out of bed, he didn't make it far, and ended up curled up in the corner, shaking violently. There was a voice, it was distant, but it was there "You are my Vessel". "NO!" Patrick grunted through gritted teeth, this was one of the few moments of control he had felt since coming home, the rest of the time, he had been it's puppet, this thing inside him. The Pain intensified, causing him to cry out, his skin felt like it was going to explode. He looked down and saw his flesh shifting and changing, re aligning beneath the surface.

"Your flesh, your life, your will is mine… your species will be raised to a new existence… you are the seed of ascendence". Patrick knew that a lot of people thought the way had been paved for him, in some respects it had, but he had always gone for the harder road. He was born into privilege, and he knew from an early age that he had opportunities others didn't, and thus, he pushed himself twice as hard to earn everything he got. His football scholarship, his own, his grades at Yale, his own, his climb through the ranks of the air force, his own, his acceptance and training for Excursion… he did that "I am a Captain in the United States air force, I've fought, I've endured, I've overcome worse than… you! Nobody did it for me… I DID IT MYSELF, YOU HEAR ME!".

"Patrick" the voice said "There is no pain, there is no fear, we are as one… embrace perfection".

Patrick grabbed the door handle and managed to pull himself to his feet, the pain was like nothing he had ever experienced, he needed to get to the phone, needed to call 911 and get an ambulance. No, not the ambulance, he needed NSEG, he needed to go for a test at the lab. "Ahh yes the lab… you're better use elsewhere".

This thing had been using him like a finger puppet all the way back from Mars, every time he wanted to say something to Dennis or Anne, every time he attempted to give a signal, it stopped him, for all intents and purposes, Dennis was none the wiser, it had completely taken over his personality, it was in his head. It knew when he was trying to force his way to the surface and was prepared for it. It knew his every thought, it knew his every move before he made it. "Orinski was a smart one, but he's gone now, he can't oppose us… we have much to do".

It was then that Patrick saw it, an image of Melissa flashing through his mind, involuntarily "NO! NO! You don't touch her, you stay away from her!". The voice in his head actually laughed, it sounded monstrous "She wants you… and I am in you… she will bare strong offspring". "NO!... STOP THIS! PLEASE" Patrick ground his teeth so hard he tasted blood. He staggered into the bathroom and lost his balance.

When he finally dragged himself up to the marble sink and looked in the mirror, it was not his face that stared back… it was something… inhuman! It was so large it took up the entire room, it's skin was an insect-like carapace and it's eyes were oddly reptilian.

"NO!" Patrick whimpered as once again he felt it re-asserting control, his limbs refused to move, he tried to shut his eyes and not see the horrific vision but his eyes refused to close.

It forced him to stare and it spoke "For aeons I watched, I waited, I slept, and then you came… so strong, so brave, so vibrant… a true hero, a legend… through you, I will deliver this world to a new future, a new ascension… REJOICE!"

---

MURMANSK MALL

"REJOICE! Embrace your glorious fate!"

Nikki let out a shriek and threw herself back from the bathroom mirror, the force of her momentum causing her to smash straight through the stalls that were directly behind her and ended up knocking down the partition. The force of her impact burst a pipe and water sprayed across her.

A moment ago, Nikki had been washing her hands in the sink, when she looked up and saw it. IT was staring back at her from the mirror, calling to her. She remembered the dreams she once had of a monstrous train chasing her down and devouring her like a Field Mouse, this was worse. She remembered the dreams of the male, the one who resembled her true self in her dreams, who would make love to her night after night and cause her to wake up drenched in sweat and burning for more. She remembered his touch, the intense pleasure it brought her.

The vision that stared back from the mirror was like that, but different, larger, so large it took up the entire space with it's massive, armoured frame, long tendrils for hair, much like herself, and a gigantic barrel chest that came down to two strong muscular legs.

It screamed at her and beckoned her. Just like it had the night of the Excursion landing on Mars… was it somehow connected? Or was it a coincidence?. Nikki picked herself up off the floor, still shaking, and wiped herself off. She looked around and made her way out of the bathroom before anyone saw.

When she got out into the food court, Maya was already coming towards her looking concerned. "I felt something strange, something scared you, are you ok?". Nikki had been enjoying getting to know Maya all afternoon, hearing her stories, it was easy to forget she was Sighted and that because Nikki had spent so much time around her, Maya was attuned to her emotional state, just as Nikki was to hers. "I… I'm not sure, something…" Nikki couldn't really form the words.

"I felt it too" Maya said "It felt like… someone else was reaching out". Nikki hadn't mentioned to Maya about the dreams she used to have… that she occasionally still experienced "I… sometimes get these dreams, or visions… I used to think they told me who I am… but I never really understood them… I think something happened… It felt like… someone else like me… I can't explain it, Maya".

Maya took Nikki by the arm and began to walk with her, something that Nikki had to get used to was just how tactile Maya could be. Not just Maya, but she had experienced this from Matilda, Paul and a few others. Of course she had experienced this from Connar too, but that was different. It was apparently a trait of being Sighted. "Come on…" May uttered "Let's get away from here before…".

Maya suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, Nikki looked up and followed her gaze. Out beyond the food court, a man emerged from a maintenance corridor, he immediately stood out. He was wearing heavy tactical plate armour and looked almost like a member of the Bomb Squad, he had an advanced helmet that was similar to the ones Connar and Maya used, only, while theirs had eight red ocular sensors, this one had only three. He was tall and broad, not in any way subtle, with an XM250 Light Machine gun slung at his side.

Almost as soon as Maya and Nikki spotted him, so did a police officer who was patrolling near the promenade at the far end of the food court. The Officer stepped forward with one hand on his sidearm and called out to the man, but as he got within reach, the big man swung a powerful backhand, catching the officer in the head. The officer was thrown several feet back by the impact and did not get up.

"VSEM VNIZ!" (EVERYONE DOWN!) Maya bellowed and drew her HK45. The big man was on the other end of the food court. He raised his arm, at which point Nikki noticed he was wearing a Gyrojet Gauntlet, similar to the ones worn by Maya and Connar, only his looked much more heavy duty. He let off a single shot, sending people diving for cover. The Gyrojet hissed across the food court like a small firework and hit Nikki square in the chest. The impact was painful and knocked her back a step, she wasn't prepared for it.

Nikki felt a powerful sting in her chest and looked down. The round was a three pronged barb and was buzzing with electricity, a Gyrojet taser round. Nikki had been hit with tasers before, and her body had adapted, but for something so small, this packed more punch than a regular taser barb. Nikki tore the barb out of her chest and tossed it while Maya returned fire, but her HK45 was absolutely useless against that armour. The big man fired again, this time it was aimed at Maya.

The barb struck Maya in the shoulder and her body locked up, she dropped and Nikki caught her as she convulsed. Nikki dove down behind the low partition wall that ringed the food court and dragged Maya's flailing body with her, she pulled the taser barb out of Maya's shoulder and drew her STI MPI-2011.

Nikki took a breath, forcing down her instincts to unleash herself upon the attacker, to rip and tear, she had never been attacked in a public place like this before, not in broad daylight. Maya recovered herself but it looked painful, her face was flushed and she grimaced as she slid herself into cover with her back against the partition wall and gave Nikki a subtle nod. Nikki knew if the fight continued, she would be exposed. She pulled up her hood and readied herself.

Nikki jumped up and fired off the entire magazine, every round struck the faceplate of the big man's helmet. Due to her strength and accuracy, she fired more rapidly than a normal human, when Nikki used weapons, they had to keep up with her. The rounds slammed into the Big Man's head so rapidly, they staggered him, but did not knock him down.

Nikki knew she could take him apart up close, but she didn't want it to come to that, not in public. Maya took the opportunity to jump up and took three shots of her own. Just like Nikki, but at a slightly slower rate of fire, but the bullets struck the faceplate, knocking him slightly but having little effect.

The big man shook it off, then brought his arm up again. Maya dropped and this time he let off a burst. Nikki was knocked several feet back by the force of the impacts as seven more barbs struck her in the neck, chest and stomach. Pain lit up her every nerve and filled her with an overwhelming rage.

Nikki writhed and let out an involuntary growl as she felt her innermost instincts, her true self scratching at the door, in that moment Nikki thought Fine, if you want to do this in public… two can play that game. She tore out the barbs and glared at him. The big man actually chuckled, but when he spoke, she thought she recognised his voice, but it sounded distorted, like it was coming through a tube attached to a radio speaker "Ooh, look at that, beautiful when she's angry… I knew there was something fuckin weird about you… come on gorgeous" the big man beckoned.

Nikki marched towards him with every intention of tearing him limb from limb… fuck subtlety. She was about to hop over the partition wall when a shot rang out over her shoulder, followed by another, causing her to instinctually duck. A young female police officer ran in from behind her, firing at the armoured man with her sidearm, shouting at everyone to get out of the way.

She fired several shots into the armoured figure, who simply stood there for a moment, absorbing the small calibre fire. As the officer drew level with Nikki, she began yelling at her to get down "Spuskaysya! Davay!" all while taking shots at the armoured man, who started marching across the food court.

The big man seemed unbothered by the bullets and chose that moment to unlimber the XM250 he had slung. He brought it up and racked the charging handle, then aimed.

Nikki grabbed the back of the Officer's collar and threw her to the ground as a hail of bullets blasted out the entire section of the food court. Nikki took several shots but dove and rolled as round after round blasted away their cover.

Nikki began moving around the partition wall, uncaring of the wounds she'd sustained, they would heal in moments. She had to shield Maya and search for something heavier. She glanced back and saw the young Officer curled up in the foetal position as rounds impacted all around her, she was screaming into a radio, likely calling for backup.

This was about to escalate in a bad way. Nearby, there was a metal table, whoever had been sitting there had run for cover, it was clear the armoured man was there for Maya and herself.

Nikki kept low and slid herself over to the metal table and tore it from its base while Maya returned fire. Maya seemed to understand her plan and reloaded, she had regained her strength. Maya nodded and blew her hair out of her face, they both silently agreed on the plan, to knock him down HARD and then run for it. The two of them exchanged a look, and Nikki saw Maya counting in her head 3…2…1… GO!

Maya jumped up and put several rounds into the big man's helmet, just as Nikki had done. He was big, he was strong, but apparently not too fast in that bulky armour. As he turned to aim at Maya, she threw herself flat, that was when Nikki jumped up and hurled the metal table top like a frisbee.

The metal table smashed into the side of the big man's head, sending him flailing, crashing though several tables and collapsing heavily to the floor. The helmet was cracked and the faceplate was split, whatever electronic systems within were sparking, the ocular eye sensors were flickering and he was shaking his head, clearly disorientated.

"LET'S GO!" Maya shouted, getting up and running past Nikki towards the staff exit "We need to warn the others". Nikki followed Maya, but as she ran through the exit, she couldn't help but glance behind her.

The armoured man got to his feet, looking unsteady and tore off his helmet. The first thing Nikki noticed was some kind of device embedded flush in the back of his skull, it had a small readout on it with scrolling code… but when he turned to face her, Nikki felt a chill up her spine.

The man was bald, with pale skin and dark, dead eyes, his nose and mouth were covered with some kind of rebreather mask that appeared to be surgically attached onto his face. He had several small wires protruding from his left temple to the back of his head, as if something had been embedded in his skull.

To her surprise, the man-thing began to chuckle, and spoke in a voice she now recognised without the distortion from the helmet radio, the man from the Orphanage… Gaunt "Clever Girl…". This "Person" wasn't the same man she saw in New York, whoever this was could no longer pass for a human being, and somehow, it was like Gaunt was speaking through him.

Nikki turned and ran. Maya reached the exterior door first and was about to kick it open when Nikki grabbed her "No, let me go first". Nikki never knew how, but every time she got injured by bullets, fire or anything else, it only ever injured her once. After she healed, whatever had hurt her, never hurt her again. Bullets would impact her skin, it would sting, but they would fail to penetrate. Now she could shield Maya from those guns if there were more.

They emerged at a rear service entrance, the area beyond was empty, a loading dock. Nikki waved for Maya to follow and they ran for the car. The service area was closed off by a large metal gate, Nikki wasn't going to waste a single second, she glanced around for cameras, seeing none, she threw herself at the metal gate, smashing through it in a single blow.

"Jesus Nikki!" Maya shouted as she followed her though the hole. They reached the car and got in. Maya started the car while Nikki climbed into the back and tore her way through the back seat to get to her duffel bag with more ammunition. That was stupid back there Nikki thought. The was ready to unleash her true form on that thing right in front of all those people, had that young officer not appeared, she would have… she had to keep a lid on it.

As Maya reversed out of the parking space, the back window was blown out. The armoured man was coming down the row of cars firing. Maya stepped on the accelerator while in reverse and slammed the car right into him, pinning him against the back of a van. His XM250 was smashed in the impact and dropped from his hand, but he went for a sidearm, pulling up a Kel-Tec P50. Before he could fire, Nikki reached through the back window, snapped back his wrist, hearing it break, and pulled the weapon from his grip.

Maya leaned around in her seat and opened fire as she threw the car into gear. Forcing the attacker to stop put his arm up in front of his head, as he now had no helmet to protect his face.

As Maya pulled away and peeled out of the parking lot, Nikki saw the big man drop to one knee and look up at her, he raised his good hand and pointed. "Where's Connar?" Nikki yelled "We need to get him and get the fuck out of here!". "He'll still be with Dimitri!" Maya shouted.

---

MURMANSK OBLASTNOY THEATERE

"I've been hearing stories about this Nicole Toombs" Dimitri said as they waited for the next set "They say she has the strength of ten Spetsnaz and a fury to match". "We met just after I failed to get Dalton" Connar told him "She pulled me out of the East River, got me underground and helped me". Dimitri looked skeptical "Why?".

Connar knew that Dimitri was Sighted, as potently as Connar or even Katya, in his line of work, suspicion and deduction were his speciality, even though Dimitri was a friend Connar kept Nikki's confidence and didn't want to give too much away about her, so he kept his answer measured "Dimitri, I know this is hard, but I trust her, and you can too… she's good, she might not be part of our circle but she's on our side". "I see… time will tell" Dimitri said "I can also tell that you have strong feelings for this woman…".

Connar dropped his eyes, he and Katya had been close, but they were never an item. "I… yeah, I do Dimitri… she's become everything to me".

"It's good to have that…" Dimitri said "Hold onto it…keep it close to you". Connar had spent the day with Dimitri, the man had lost his eldest daughter, Katya was strong, brave, funny, passionate and could dance like a leaf on the wind. Connar owed it to him to go see him and tell him that his Daughter's death hadn't been in vain.

They had met by the monument that overlooked the city, from there Dimitri had taken him down to the Murmansk Oblastnoy Theatre to watch a ballet rehearsal. A place where the two of them could talk private. Dimitri would often take Katya to watch live rehearsals in Moscow.

Dimitri was, of course, well informed and found it concerning that Connar had gone dark for so long after the incident in New York. He had shown him a file on the man who bested him on the rooftop, the man everyone was calling a hero, Preston Lennox.

Through voice analysis, they had connected Lennox to the man who commanded the assault on the Commune in the Catskills, Colonel Carter Burgess Jr was Lennox' former commanding officer from his days running black ops before going freelance.

Dimitri had just come out and said it "I did some checking, we know he wasn't working for Dalton directly, like the men who attacked you in the warehouse… he's using his hero status from that night to build a diplomatic protection unit… he knows nothing of the man he was protecting and it makes me fucking sick".

Dimitri took out a file and handed it to Connar, it was biographical material on Lennox, his military service record and also details on his contracting work "Our latest intel said he was approached by Burgess again for some Covert Operation, one of my men attended his demonstration… say the word and I'll green light him for you?".

Connar knew that as a Deputy Director of the SVR, Dimitri's had a far reach, but this kind of action would serve no purpose now, besides, he didn't want to go into any details about Nikki's past and what Lennox had done to her, he knew that any decision about Press Lennox's future would ultimately be hers to make.

Connar had gone for the tactical answer "After his defeat in the Catskills, Burgess will be hungry for retribution, if anyone makes a move on Lennox in the middle of whatever he's doing with Burgess… not to mention his current Hero status… as much as it pains me to say it, taking out Lennox is too high profile right now, and has no bearing on our current situation, it's clear that whatever is going on, the US Government is involved, if we move against Uncle Sam's go-to guy, we risk exposure, and opening up a new front in this war". Connar paused then added "Besides, he got lucky, I'm more than capable of finishing him myself should the need arise".

"Sometimes I forget how analytical you can be Braden" Demitri had said "We'll table Lennox for now, I will leave this in your hands". Connar had taken Lennox' file and stuffed it into his backpack as they continued to watch the rehearsal. "I'm sorry I failed Dimitri… I wasn't thinking straight that day… we both lost someone". Dimitri's face twitched but he collected himself and just placed a hand on Connar's shoulder and patted it hard. Connar squeezed his hand in a venture of support.

As they carried on watching the rehearsal, an uneasiness fell over Connar, something was wrong with Nikki and Maya, he was attuned to them and sensed, even though they weren't with him, something was very wrong. Dimitri picked up on it through him "Something isn't right with the others…". "You feel it?" Connar asked.

Dimitri looked up and was about to respond when his Bodyguard ran in through the auditorium doors and leaned down to his side "Sir, there's been an attack over at the Mall".

Connar knew he felt that something was wrong, Nikki was in distress. Connar's attention was then drawn to the stage shots ring out. He had been tuned to the mental and emotional focus of the dancers, but there was a sudden surge of fear.

The dancers suddenly ran off the stage just as three heavily armoured figures strode out from somewhere behind the stage, silhouetted in the stage lights and all raised high capacity AR15's. The bodyguard deployed an FMG-9 and began firing but only got off a single burst before he was cut down by automatic fire. Connar and Dimitri dove behind the seats as the firing continued.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen" Gaunt's voice came from one of the figures on stage "Tonight's entertainment is brought to you by our all new Echo Drones". His voice sounded strange, it was his voice, but someone else's at the same time, sounding like he was being amplified somewhat "Fuck me I love show business… never took you for a fan of the arts you little prick!... Track and eliminate".

Connar pulled out his Staccato XC and a threw an M84 Stun Grenade in their direction, then began firing over the seats. Dimitri did the same, pulling out an Arsenal Strike One Mk2 and firing over the seats as he crawled. "Get the fucking gun" Dimitri shouted, and pointed as he crawled ahead of Connar. Connar saw what he was pointing at, the fallen FMG-9. Connar shoved his hand under the seat and managed to grab the top rail of the foldable weapon.

Dimitri and Connar were near the back, but the figures were advancing. Were it not for Dimitri's other bodyguard and driver, they would have easily converged on them. The man burst through the doors firing with his own FMG-9 and throwing a flashbang, staggering the armoured man closest to him but it only temporarily knocked him. The driver threw a flashbang into the aisle to distract the other two advancing assailants.

There was now enough smoke that Connar saw the opportunity and came up firing with the FMG-9, he knew that Dimitri's bodyguard would've kept it loaded with standard AP rounds. He fired several shots into the centre mass and more into the helmet, but it only seemed to annoy the attacker. This armour was high grade, bulky, resembling something similar to Military EOD or Bomb Squad type armour.

"I haven't had this much fun in fucking years" Gaunt's voice came out of the figure. The Helmet was similar to his own advanced "Spider" ECM (Enhanced Combat Management) Helmet, but there were only three Ocular sensors instead of eight. Like his own, able to withstand anything up to .308.

Connar darted across the aisle as the magazine ran dry and hurled the FMG-9 at the armoured man's head. The thing levelled its Gyrojet Gauntlet at Connar but he kicked it offline and tackled the armoured man to the ground.

The assailant fought ferociously as they landed between the seats on the opposite side of the aisle. The assault rifle went off full Auto into the ceiling as Connar fought to keep it offline.

Connar jammed his pistol under the man's helmet and fired five shots point blank. The Driver reloaded but the other two armoured men turned and fired, forcing him back through the door.

Connar took what little initiative he had, finding a grenade on the man's belt, he pulled the pin and tossed it over the seats into the aisle. Just as the grenade went off, momentarily stopping the barrage of heavy fire, Connar felt Dimitri's hand grab his collar and pull him up as they dove for the door.

The driver fell into step behind them as they ran down the stairs, but one of the armoured men burst through the door and opened fire. The driver was cut down.

Connar dragged him to cover but it was too late, the bullet had struck him in the back of the neck and severed his spine. "There's nothing we can do, get the keys" Dimitri shouted as he pulled the weapon out of the driver's hands and returned fire around the corner.

Connar searched the driver's jacket and found the keys "Got them, let's go!". Dimitri moved first, firing the SMG and smashing out the glass door. They both made it though just in time and ran around the side of the building to the parking lot.

Connar cleared the area, using his senses and they both bolted for Dimitri's car, a black, armoured Range Rover "We need to link up with the others" Connar said. "These fuckers think they can come here, and do this!" Dimitri seethed "We will kill them all!". Dimitri pulled the keys out of Connar's hand "There's an AN-94 in the back, I'll drive, you shoot, the windows are armoured".

Connar didn't have to be told twice, he took the AN-94 out of the trunk, loaded it and switched it to Hyperburst. He got into the back seat as Dimitri fired up the engine.

Connar moved around the Car as Dimitri reversed out of the space, the two armoured figures emerged around the corner and began firing. The vehicle's armour across the side and back took the rounds and Connar returned fire, hitting one of the attackers and knocking him down, "GET IN!" Dimitri shouted. Connar threw open the back passenger door and dove onto the seat as Dimitri put his foot down, peeling out of the parking lot and down the street, all while the attackers kept firing.

Connar checked behind, he saw one of the figures step forward and make a cut throat gesture as they shrank into the distance "They're not following, we need to regroup". "Call it in" Dimitri said "We'll meet up with Maya and Nikki, then we'll go to the Commune in the hills near Revda, let them know, I want them at full readiness".

Connar reached for his phone and called Nikki, it took several tries but she eventually picked up "Connar!" she shouted down the line "We were attacked!".

"I know, so were we… Nikki, are you both ok?". "We're good" Nikki said, sounding frustrated "Maya took a shock round pretty bad, but she's fine, they were trying to take us alive". "Lucky you" Connar responded "They came at us heavy". "Tell her to head south, out of the City, we'll link up out on the highway" Dimitri said.

Connar relayed Dimitri's instructions "Meet us out on the highway, we're going to a commune, it's in the mountains near a place called Revda, very remote, Maya knows where it is". "Revda Commune" Connar heard Maya in the background and realised he was on speaker "No worries, I know where that is".

"I will have the Safe house cleared out" Dimitri said "We'll consolidate everything at the Commune then I'll have us all evacuated South. Use code Malleus". Connar ended the call with Nikki as Dimitri drove and made another call to the Watchtower Post, using the code and giving them instructions to move everything out to the Commune at Revda.

They met on a service road by the highway. Luckily they had been keeping their gear in the back of the car Maya was using. They grabbed their bags and hauled it into the back of Dimitri's vehicle. "Did you get a look at them?" Connar asked.

"Yeah" Nikki said "I damaged his helmet, he had wires and shit coming out of his head, it was fucking disgusting… and I heard that guy Gaunt speaking through him.. It was fucked up!". "Wires in his head?" Dimitri asked. "I saw it too" Maya said as Dimitri began to drive "Similar to Ethan in New York, but this was different, we didn't feel them coming, no Psychic signature, no emotional well, no aura aspect, totally blank".

"It was the same with us… I only knew something was wrong because I felt it from both of you" Connar said "And there was Gaunt's voice, it was him speaking through them… he called those things Echo Drones". "Fan-fucking-tastic, so now we're dealing with fucking zombies with guns" Dimitri snorted, it was clear he was beyond angry, for someone in his position to be attacked on home soil was less of a danger and more of an insult "This shit keeps getting better and better".

---

LOVOZERSKY DISTRICT - MURMANSK OBLAST

It was a two and a half hour drive from the city to the Commune. It wasn't in the small town of Revda, it was actually secluded in the hills about 30 minutes outside of the town. They just called it the Revda commune for convenience, because anyone travelling to it usually had to pass through the town.

Connar had never been to the Revda Commune before, the only time he had stayed in Murmansk was in the safe house in the city before moving on. The roads got narrower after they turned off the highway, until it was dirt roads and finally almost cross country, luckily they had a top of the range 4x4.

There was little small talk the entire trip, everyone was clearly in a bad mood. Dimitri, having already lost his eldest daughter, had now had his grief exacerbated by being publicly attacked, losing two of his men in the process.

When they finally arrived at the Commune, they found it at full readiness. Other vehicles had pulled in and more headlights were coming over the hill. Likely the cleanup team from the safe house bringing anything they had in the apartment.

No matter how well prepared things looked, Connar couldn't allow himself to relax, whoever was behind this new operation was actively taking the fight to the Whispers, and was clearly brave or stupid enough to send their lobotomized monsters to attack them in public, in Russia no less.

Connar watched Maya head down to the basement where their operations centre was set up, Dimitri followed. No doubt they would be informing Amitra and other Whisper council members.

Connar took his gear out of the car and assembled the Genesis Gen 12 auto shotgun he'd taken from Gaunt in New York, he wasn't going to mess around with him if they encountered one another again, and to that end, he had acquired a loadout of Frag 12 high explosive rounds.

He took his Tactical Sword and sheathed it across his back, loaded his pouches and then checked his ECM helmet. He had repaired it after Preston Lennox dropped him into the East river. It was designed with an internal FPV AI System for controlling multiple attack drones. Connar had no drones, but the internal HUD display had Night Vision and Infrared.

Connar, like Maya, and the others, had a remote viewing ability that allowed him to view the environment in aspect, it appeared like a photonegative, with living things highlighted in aura according to their state of mind.

Localized remote viewing he had been trained to do in seconds, more prolonged or extended projection took more meditation, it didn't matter if he was miles from his target or whether they were on the other side of a building, he could see that aspect, but not with these new assailants.

These "Echo Drones" as Gaunt Called them, were psychic blank, like Maya said, no psychic signatures, no moods, no auras. Connar didn't like relying on technology, it didn't work out for him in New York, but for now, the targeting systems in his helmet would have to make do.

Connar handed the AN-94 to one of the guards on duty and wandered around the side of the building. It was a warm, clear night and the lack of light pollution out here made the sky look breathtaking.

Connar found a tree stump by the edge of the forest and sat down, he'd take a few minutes here to decompress. He wanted a joint, but he needed to be on high alert, and made a mental note to burn one on the ride out of here.

He and Nikki had a good thing going in New York, even living underground, he had never felt so happy in his life, comfortable, content… and then this bullshit started, and the fact that Nikki, who liked to keep a low profile, had been dragged into this mess gnawed at him, he couldn't bare if anything happened to her because of him.

As for Gaunt being alive. Connar decided that he had already taken his revenge on Day Zero when he scalped him and threw him down an elevator shaft before the entire Silo went down… evidently, that wasn't enough. All that was left was to simply get rid of him, for now he threatened a new generation of The Sighted.

Connar wouldn't allow anyone else to go through what he did. No, next time they encountered each other, there would be no vengeance, not torture or any prolonged theatrics… just end him, and put his memory to the fire.

It wasn't too long before he felt Nikki's presence approaching and she sat next to him. Her presence instantly soothed his thoughts "Hay Nikki" he breathed, he took her hand and shuffled up so she could sit. "You should eat something" she said "you look like you've got the weight of the world on you…here, got you a beer from upstairs".

Nikki flicked off the bottle caps with her nail and handed one to him "Well, here we are…" Nikki said, taking a drink and looking up at the sky "Were it not for all this shit, this would be a good place to visit, the air smells so clear". Connar nudged her playfully "Well, maybe when all this is over, we'll go build a cabin down by the lake".

Nikki laughed "I said visit… in case you hadn't noticed since you met me, I'm kinda an Urban legend… emphasis on urban, I like feeling the pulse of the streets, still… this place has grown on me…".

"Oh I get it" Connar laughed "You don't wanna live out here, because out here you'd have to hunt for your food…" He hooked her arm and pulled her close "And no fast food snacks to steal from me". Nikki began to laugh again "Oh, you gotta let go of things Connar, it was only a Shashlik".

"Yeah, but what about that Chilli Dog in the East Village" Connar smirked " Or the Pizza Slice in Hell's Kitchen… or that Waffle in Soho". Nikki looked at him seriously for a moment then burst into laughter "Are you actually keeping score! And you even remember the places too". "I'm gonna get you back" Connar laughed. "If you coulda' you woulda'" Nikki laughed "I'm like, so much more sighted than you… I know what you're gonna do before you even think of it… I'll be ready".

As Nikki laughed, Connar knew he had something that would make things instantly better, so he pulled out his phone and went straight to the photo's and held it out for Nikki to see… "Yeah, well you missed this little number…". Nikki looked down and saw the sly photo he'd snapped of her in her true form, stuck in the wall, her laugh instantly died and her eyes went wide "Ohhh… you Shanty Asshole!" she shouted.

Nikki swiped for the phone, but Connar was already up and backing away. She jumped up and was coming after him "Gimme that, right now!". "Oh no…" Connar said, realising he was backing up into the woods "When we get back to New York, I'm gonna have it blown up 10 by 10 and mounted on a canvas, we'll put it on the wall in Terminus". "Oh yeah?" Nikki said and darted forward "I'll mount your skin on the goddamn wall, get back here!".

Connar held up the image to Nikki as he backed away and began to narrate in his best Attenborough impression "And, here we have… the extremely rare… Spikey Mermaid… in her natural habitat… where she drinks like a fish, then gets her arse stuck in the wall in a perfect position… spread eagle and ready to receive". Nikki shook her head and bit her lip "Right, ok, ok now you've done it, Shanty" Nikki said, still coming after him "You earned yourself a Robbie Special!". Connar wasn't done "You told me you had your top off… let's make it authentic!". Nikki picked up speed but she was also fighting the urge to laugh "Connar, I'm gonna kick your shanty ass all the way back to New York!".

Connar felt safe with Nikki, that's why he wasn't minding his surroundings and backed up into a tree, she was instantly able to grab him "Gimme that!". Nikki had him now and he knew it, once she got her hands on you, it was all over, he squirmed and pushed as she grappled with him, trying to get her hands into his pockets for the phone.

Connar yelped as she pinched the nerve on the back of his leg "Get off my ass!". "Sorry" Nikki quipped "Thought it was your face, gimme that goddamn phone!". She was about to find it, Connar whipped the phone back out of his pocket and held it at arms length, trying to get away. Nikki threw her arm over his shoulder and forced him into a headlock.

This was when Connar saw his opportunity and grabbed her leg "Ha! Gimme this leg!". She was incredibly strong, but weighed the same as any normal person. He slid his arm up between her thighs and grabbed her leg tight, lifting her up off the ground. "Hay!" she shouted "Put me down!". Connar was still in her headlock and she was practically laying on top of his shoulders with his arm hooked around her thigh in an awkward fireman's lift. They continued to playfully struggle.

This was no different than the things they did either in the tunnels, streets and parks of New York, often in the early hours after raiding a stash house, blowing off steam.

Eventually their struggling led Connar to lose his balance and they landed in the grass, at this point, Connar knew he was in trouble because the phone flew out of his hand and landed a few feet away.

Nikki saw it the same time he did and went for it. Connar crawled through the grass and tried to dive for the phone… he never made it. Nikki threw him over onto his back easily and pinned him "There, got your ass! Now let's see how much mischief you can get up to, gimme the code" she laughed as she reached over his head and picked up the phone. "You know I'm trained to resist interrogation right?" Connar said.

Connar took the opportunity to reach up and gently pull her down so they were face to face, and instant later she laid into him with a ferociously passionate kiss "I'm glad you're here…" Connar said breathlessly "I don't think I could do this without you". "You didn't think I'd let you have all this fun by yourself did you?" Nikki said, breathing heavily.

They rolled over and Nikki threw off her jacket before pushing him down and pinning him again. He pulled at her belt and opened her jeans with one hand while she reached over his back and pulled off his shirt. He felt her pull off his belt.

Connar reached up and pulled her into another passionate kiss as they fell down again onto the grass, pulling off one another's clothes, it didn't take long before they were both naked and all their clothes were strewn around the woods.

Connar glanced back, they had gone quite a way into the woods in their little chase, the small lights at the back of the commune were distant, it was just them, and only them. Nikki pulled him up and they kissed with a fiery passion, it felt like their tongues were doing battle before he felt himself slip inside her, Nikki let out a gasp, then clenched her jaw, baring her teeth and threw back her head, baring her naked chest and uttering a loud, tiger-like growl. She pinned him to the ground and began to grind on him.

They rolled over again, Nikki clenched her jaw and grimaced in devine agony at each thrust, Connar felt her nails dig into his back and she growled again, louder this time. Their lips found each other again and locked together, their passion intensified further into something wild and untamed.

Nikki thrust herself up and wrapped her legs around him as they came into the lotus position face to face, Nikki stared down at him, the passion in her reflective eyes was like an inferno. She began to grind as he thrusted in sync. She threw back her head and let out a ferocious roar of pure surging pleasure and writhed in his arms.

She leaned in and kissed him again, this time, they didn't break away. Connar closed his eyes and gave himself to her, feeling the texture of her skin begin to change, her breathing became heavier and the growls got louder, he felt her lips and her tongue in his mouth begin to change. He felt the firm globes of her breasts against his chest begin to change texture and then something warm slipped around him, her tendrils would hold them together in a tight embrace.

Connar opened his eyes and looked into two teal blue reptilian orbs, their minds were as one, their emotions were as one, they never needed to say it out loud, so long as they were together, I love you, I want you… only you, and we are all we ever need… in that moment, they both knew, so long as they were together, nothing could ever touch them.

---

Maya and Dimitri had spent the past hour and a half appraising Amitra and several other Whisper Council members of the situation via video-link. It was a deeply troubling development. Whoever was doing this was applying the surgical procedure they had witnessed on Ethan Hall to non-sighted individuals, only it appeared to be much more invasive, turning them into augmented human drones.

Maya and Nikki had witnessed these drones speaking, as had Connar and Dimitri, it was definitely Gaunt controlling them remotely somehow, he had referred to them as "Echo Drones".

With Ethan, Maya and Connar had still been able to sense his Psychic presence and his mind, evidently, they wanted him to retain his psychic abilities and be capable of some independent thought, enough to think tactically and be effective in solo operations. However, these new things were completely blank, enough to negate a Whisper's extrasensory perception. Effectively making them an Anti-Whisper weapon.

"This is getting out of hand" Amitra said "In public?". "Whoever is behind this is clearly trying to expose our order" Maya replied "We can't let that happen, not now, not after all we went through to eradicate Project Morrigan". Dimitri stepped up to the screen "That goes without saying, but apart from Gaunt, the Morrigan overseer, we still have no solid leads on whoever is behind this new project, Gaunt is a blunt instrument, he can't be the only one involved. I have loyal SVR assets looking into the incident at the Mall and the Theatre, so far all they've found is footage of the assailants being extracted in black vans… we weren't able to track them".

"I'll go to The Island… I'll speak to him, see if he has any insight" Amitra said "You're not the only ones who have encountered these things, they've attacked communes in Germany and Italy, more have been taken". Maya felt her stomach tighten at Amitra's next words "I'd appreciate it if you and Connar accompanied me".

Nevertheless, this was getting bad, and she knew Amitra was talking about on the Island, Charles Roland, the creator of Project Morrigan, she was going to execute him on Day Zero, while Connar took his revenge on Gaunt for years of abuse, Maya had been able to find it in herself to keep Roland alive, as per Amitra's request to take him alive if possible, to gain information about any other operations by the remnants of the Ascendency. Sparing him was the hardest thing she had ever done.

Roland was now in a maximum security prison on an island off the coast of Norway. He was being kept there under a false identity created by Amitra's people and a whole life sentence, no communication with the outside world. When Maya had dragged Roland out alive, she had almost had to physically fight Connar who wanted to shoot him.

In the years since, Connar and his siblings had been quietly leveraging their influence throughout various Covens to get Whispers with longstanding loyalties to their clan into positions within the prison. Maya had learned about this a couple of years ago, and had implored Connar not to have him killed, rotting away in solitary was more fitting, and he was providing useful intelligence. Connar's response was troubling "I won't have him killed, that's too easy, I just have him occasionally reminded that he breathes by my permission".

Maya took a breath and tried to calm herself, thinking about Roland and what was inevitably going to be a difficult conversation "I'll let Connar know, Amitra, but you know that's going to go down like a lead balloon, he's been there with me a few times over the years when we've had to visit him for intel, Roland loves to fuck with us".

Amitra nodded solemnly "I wouldn't ask if the situation weren't this dire" Amitra said. Dimitri listened to the plan and nodded, leaning forward "I can arrange for safe passage to the Island for them once we get everyone relocated, but until then, we're at full readiness". "Thank you Dimitri" Amitra said.

At this point, FBI ACAC Victoria Noodin chimed in "Other former Morrigan operators are on standby, the ones stateside are securing our communes, all Watch Posts are on alert". She was the youngest member of the Whisper high council at 33, but was swiftly finding her feet after being named successor to Edward Donovan, head of special activities at the CIA. He had led a double life for decades as he led the East Coast Coven.

"I have to admit" Noodin began "In a situation this fluid, I'm not comfortable with Connar Braden and this Outsider running point with you, Maya… I can't find anything on her, no I.D. no prints, no DNA… as for Braden, he was put under Censure for that shit he pulled over in Nottingham, and then there was the incident in New York…". Maya didn't know Victoria Noodin very well, her over-caution was not entirely unwarranted, but still frustrating "I trust them both" Maya said, perhaps more firmly than was needed.

Fabian Király, leader of the central european Coven spoke up next "That may be, the world and our covens are more interconnected than ever, our secrecy is the key to our survival, this "Angel of Vermin" we've all heard about has proven herself capable, but like Braden, she's a loose cannon. His actions in New York threatened to expose us, and before that, as Ms Noodin mentioned, his little vigilante war on the streets in England were trademark Bloody Braden, wanton violence to prove a point… I hear the other Braden siblings have begun moving their arms shipments to communes across the UK and Ireland, but if they decide to go on the offensive, this will escalate beyond anyone's control".

"We're all in on this" Maya said "Nikki may be a wildcard in all this, but she's a gamechanger and no mistake, I don't know who she really is, but I know I wouldn't be alive without her, on two separate occasions now… As for Connar, since reconnecting with him I've found him to be less hot headed than before, they'll see this through, I'll guarantee that". Maya swallowed, she knew more about Nikki now, but, like Connar, she wouldn't break her confidence, if that meant lying to the council, so be it.

"Enough of this" Amitra said, leaning forward "I put them on point, and I wouldn't have done it if I didn't believe they were up to the task" Amitra paused, letting it sink in, the other Whisper council members remained silent. "This new enemy is a cunning one" Amitra said "If we show even an ounce of weakness, the tiniest fracture at this stage, we risk absolute collapse… what we do, who we are… You, as a council put me in charge of dealing with this, Maya and the others have my full support, and by extension, they have yours".

The other Whisper Council Members all took a moment to consider their position, and one by one, all agreed, stating their agreement. Eventually, they all disconnected and Maya felt relieved to just be talking to Amitra again. "Don't mind them" Amitra said in a reassuring tone "They're right to be jumpy… Maya, Dimitri, you all had a close call, are you alright?".

"We're fine" Maya nodded "Cuts and bruises, that's all". "We were lucky" Dimitri added "These things they sent after us… they found a way to neutralize our advantage, our senses, our perception". "I know" Amitra said "It's bad, but once we have that thread, we'll find whoever is doing this, and hang them with it" Amitra took a breath then added "Nikki, and Connar, how are they holding up? Please tell them I'm thinking of them… we all are".

Maya had last seen them just after they arrived, Connar was getting his gear ready and Nikki was familiarizing herself with the Commune "I'll pass it along that you're thinking of them… wherever they are, probably upstairs helping with the packdown".

"You all stay safe" Amitra said "And Dimitri, when all this is over, you and I will share a very tall drink at the White Rabbit in Moscow". "I look forward to it" Dimitri said with a slight laugh, then added "I called in reinforcements from across the peninsula, I have air assets, they should be here shortly and we plan to fly everyone south to the larger communes near St. Petersburg and Moscow, they're less remote, but more well protected".

"The one at the Mall tried non-lethals with Nikki and I" Maya said "But the one's in the theatre were on search and destroy, I think they're targeting us specifically". Amitra considered this for a moment "This operation must have a lot of resources running into it, and it makes sense they'd target you and Connar, especially you Maya, you led Day-Zero". "It has to be Gaunt" Maya said "We know he's involved, but we can't track him. He was active in hunting us when we escaped Morrigan, he's familiar with our tactics and has likely passed on all his previous intel to this new group".

Amitra thought about this "Sounds good… the three of you be careful, I can't afford to lose anyone else… We do not fear the Flames". "We do not fear the Flames" Maya and Dimitri repeated.

Amitra smiled and ended the call, Dimitri went about overseeing the pack down. The helicopters would be here in a few hours and they needed no traces. "I like this commune, it's beautiful out here, do you think we'll come back?" Maya asked.

"We've been through worse than this" Dimitri said. Maya heard the subtext in what he said, a man grieving the loss of a daughter and put her hand on his shoulder "We'll finish this, Dimitri, I promise" Maya said. Dimitri gripped her hand for a moment before letting go and nodded.

"Right" Maya said "I'll go get my gear stowed and find out where those two have gotten off too". Dimitri smiled "Thank you Maya, you're a good friend, you'll be running things one day, I know it". Maya smiled "Not too soon I hope".

---

It had been over an hour and a half, Nikki knew it wouldn't be long before their transport arrived. She opened her eyes and inhaled deeply, the soft breeze against her naked body felt soothing as she lay in the grass on the forest floor. It had been spontaneous and felt incredible, the climaxes, the orgasms, she hadn't had much time to be alone with Connar since this all began. Nikki, for the most part didn't get scared, but after what happened earlier while they were apart, that was too close.

Connar had his arms wrapped around her from behind, she felt his warm hands pull her close "It won't be long" Nikki said softly. "Doesn't matter" Connar whispered and hugged her tighter "Let's just stay here a while".

Nikki breathed deeply again, letting the fresh air fill her lungs and looked up at the sky again "That felt good" she whispered "I needed that". "You felt good, Nikki" Connar said softly. Nikki turned over to face him and they shared a gentle kiss. They had no secrets, and there was something she needed to get off her chest, the attack wasn't the only thing that was bothering her "Something happened earlier" she said "Before the attack".

"I think I felt it too" Connar said "It's how I knew something was wrong, what happened?". "I'm not sure, remember when we watched the Mars landing and I had that weird episode… it was like that, it felt like something was reaching out… something like me".

"So, you think there's someone like you out there?" Connar asked "Any idea who… or where?". "I'm not sure" Nikki said, running her fingers through his hair, tracing the tattoo down his neck "It was far away… but it was close at the same time… it was beckoning me… But Connar, it wasn't like the dreams I told you about, it was different… it scared me". "What scares you, scares me" Connar said, bruising back her hair "As long as we're together, nothing can touch us".

Nikki leaned in and kissed him again "These past few weeks… Seeing all I've seen, The Whispers, the way it all works… I think I understand now why you didn't wanna go back…". Connar smirked and kissed back "You've been talking to Maya". "Yeah… before we were interrupted, I was learning a lot… about the Whispers, their secret world, their history… I wanted to know why those people were saying those things".

"Kyteler" Connar breathed, and a guilty look came over him "I'm sorry, I should've told you". Nikki took hold of his face and looked into his eyes "I said I understand… you wanted a fresh start after what happened".

She felt his hand wrap tighter around her and move lower, stirring her passion again… "The only thing I wanted was you… to be with you and forget about all this" he said. Nikki rolled on top of him and they kissed deeply "Like I said… we'll finish this… then we'll go home… and all this will be behind us".

---

After squaring away her rifle in her backpack and grabbing the rest of her gear, Maya made her way upstairs to find Nikki and Connar and tell them about their plan, knowing that it likely wasn't going to go down very well with Connar. Nikki and Connar were nowhere to be found, after asking around, nobody had seen them. Maya finally went outside and looked around "Where the hell are they?".

Maya watched as another vehicle came over the hill and pulled up in front. These were the people from the Murmansk Watch Post that oversaw the safe houses in the region. They had moved everything out.

Maya helped take the cases out of the car, but as she was making her way around the side of the house, she felt it, her senses picked it up. Someone was out in the forest at the back of the commune.

Her hand instinctively went to her sidearm before her psychic acuity became attuned to the fact it was Nikki and Connar… what the fuck are they doing now? Maya thought, everyone is on high alert and they're taking some alone time?.

Maya dropped the case she was carrying and made her way to the tree line, the first thing she saw was the Genesis 12 Shotgun and Connar's backpack propped up against a tree stump. Maya continued, and as she got further into the woods, she started seeing other things, Nikki's boot, Connar's jacket and shirt, then Nikki's shirt… a bra… Oh… so that's what's going on. Now Maya felt embarrassed and turned back.

No sooner had she turned around than she saw Nikki's distinctive reflective eyes several yards away in the shadows. Nikki emerged from the dark looking slightly dishevelled, she was running her hands through her hair, her jeans were hanging open and she was topless. She was looking around, then found her bra in the grass, not in a hurry, she clearly didn't have much inhibition.

There was a sheen of sweat on her skin. "Hay Maya…" Nikki said nonchalantly, sounding a little breathless. A few moments later, Connar's voice came from somewhere further back "Oh… hay Maya…".

Maya handed Nikki her boot and her shirt "Hope I'm not interrupting?". "Nah" Connar's voice called back "You're late… we were thinking of inviting you but what with that taser round earlier, we didn't think you had the stamina". Nikki looked back and laughed, picking up his boot and throwing it into the dark "Asshole.. here's the other one".

Connar emerged from the dark a few moments later, tightening his belt while looking around in the grass "Your shirt's over there Connar" Maya pointed, shaking her head. Connar smirked "Ahh, cheers…".

Maya waited a few moments while they both moved around her, looking for their discarded clothes and getting dressed, this had evidently been spontaneous but very passionate "I came to tell you" Maya began, still slightly embarrassed "Everyone's moving out of here soon, Dimitri is going to divide everyone between the Communes near St. Petersburg and Moscow, but… we're not going with them". "Makes sense" Nikki said "They tracked us here somehow, we're the targets". Connar nodded "So we stay, make it known we're here, draw them off" Connar said "Then we turn this place into a killbox, and ambush them".

Maya knew this was about to be awkward and shook her head "As much as I like that idea… I'm afraid not…we're going to meet Amitra at the Island" Maya sensed Connar's emotions and his internal rhythms spike in a bad way, Nikki also turned, evidently she felt it too.

"Way to kill a good fuckin' mood" Connar said as he sat down in the grass to put on his boots, his expression darkened and he fixed her with a cold stare for a few moments before going back to tying his laces "No, we lay breadcrumbs and lure them into a trap, out here is perfect, remote, no witnesses, then we get our hands on one and see what we can find out that way".

Maya had to keep her tone measured, when it came to the subject of Roland, Connar could be a live wire "Connar….". "No Maya, he's been in solitary for nearly a fucking decade, this is an entirely new threat, he's not gonna have any useful insight".

Maya set herself "Yes, but it's not an entirely new threat, is it? When we tell him that Gaunt is involved it might jog his memory…". Connar finished pulling on his boot and stood up "Jog his memory… It's a waste of time" Connar snatched up his jacket and started moving past her.

"We're taking losses everywhere, Connar, two more attacks, in Germany and Italy… we're bleeding, and we still don't know who's at the top of this… if it sounds like we're grasping at straws it's because we fucking are… if you have a better idea, now's the time…".

Connar turned and clenched his jaw… "Maya, It's a waste of time… and it's not going to give us the initiative". "You don't know that…" Maya said, raising her voice now. Connar shook his head "Fine, you and Amitra have fun on your wild goose chase, I'll do what we should have done from the start… we'll go back to the US, find that Colonel who attacked us in the Catskills, then we'll work our way up though whoever was running him until someone gives us a fucking name…".

"That's a brilliant idea, Connar" Maya said "You'll bring the entire US military down on us and then we'll be fighting on two fronts". Nikki stepped between them "Ok, is one of you gonna tell me who this person is on this island or am I gonna have to guess?". Connar closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath "Charles Roland". Nikki tilted her head and leaned on a tree "Charles Roland, you mean head of Project Morrigan, that Charles Roland? I thought you guys killed him?".

"We kept him alive for intelligence purposes…" Maya said. Nikki looked thoughtful "But Connar's probably right, if you've been keeping him in solitary since your "Day Zero" then how much use do you think he's gonna be?". Maya knew deep down that it was a long shot, but all they had were long shots "Truthfully, Nikki, I don't know, but maybe, once we tell him Gaunt is still alive, he might be able to point us at someone… they were getting desperate in the months leading up to Day Zero, when all the operatives were jumping ship… maybe he can point us in the direction of a mutual contact, government oversight or a potential backer". "Yeah, see, there are a lot of if's and maybe's in there Maya" Connar interjected.

"Well, it's all we have, we can stay on the backfoot and keep reacting, or we can lean on anything we have to get out ahead of this" Maya said "We need to retake the initiative any way we can… for fuck's sake they came after us in public, in Russia no less… that's insight in itself, whoever's behind this either has serious balls or has a screw loose".

Nikki shifted and leaned against a tree, folding her arms "I don't like this either". "Like I said Nikki, we are grasping at straws, until we get a name, a location, a digital footprint, something to work with, we can't retaliate".

Nikki reached down and retrieved her long green jacket from the ground, casually slinging it over her shoulder "Well, fair enough, shake enough trees, something is bound to come loose". This seemed to settle it for Nikki, but she was tuned into Connar's emotions and seemed to be watching him closely, Maya could sense his frustration and how angry he was at the prospect of having to face Roland again. When Connar was taken by Project Morrigan, their agents had attempted to take all of the Braden siblings, there was a shootout and their parents were killed, in the chaos, his brothers and sisters escaped.

The last time Maya and Connar paid a visit to Roland, the old man had commented that he had raised Connar and all the others better than their parents would have, bringing them to their full potential. It had taken nine of the guards and Maya to pull Connar off of him.

"This man, he's a scientist?" Nikki asked. "Yes he was… a government scientist, a Doctor" Maya said "An expert in neuroscience and psychological conditioning among other things… he's also Sighted and a very long time ago, he was one of us, until he betrayed us". "Let me guess" Nikki said "Cold, indifferent, goal driven. The ends justify the means type?".

Maya was surprised, Nikki just described Roland perfectly even though she had minimal information about him "Yeah, Nikki, that's pretty accurate…". "Thought so" Nikki said "Just like my Father…those government scientist types are obviously all the fucking same".

Seeing an opportunity to steer the conversation away from Roland and hopefully allow Connar to settle, Maya decided to pull that thread "Who was your old man, Nikki?" Maya asked. Nikki looked like she was about to say something, but then her gaze broke off and she looked up and to the west. "What is it?" Maya asked. "Helicopters… one Tandem Rotor… a couple of Little Birds and the other… sounds like a Black Hawk…". "In Russia?" Maya asked.

Maya still couldn't hear anything, Nikki's senses were clearly far beyond the range of any normal human. Connar clicked his radio and opened a channel to Dimitri "Dimitri, it's Connar come in?". "Da, everything ok?" Dimitri's voice came back. Connar clicked the mic "Dimitri, what make of Helo's are you bringing in?". There was a pause for a few moments before Dimitri's voice came back "A couple of Mil Mi-26 heavy lift's… why?".

Maya sensed both Connar and Nikki's rhythms spike before they both forced down the sudden rush, they exchanged a knowing look, Connar clicked the mic "Dimitri get everyone to defensive positions, do it now, we're about to get hit!".

In unison, they all bolted back through the forest towards the commune. Connar snatched up the Genesis 12 shotgun and his backpack which he had left by the tree stump and shouted to the guards before slamming on his ECM Helmet "Zaymite oboronitel'nuyu pozitsiyu... nemedlenno oboronitel'nuyu pozitsiyu!" (Take up defensive positions, defensive positions now!).

Nikki rolled up her jacket and threw it aside before leaping up onto a first story balcony, shouting in Russian to the man on watch that they were about to be attacked. Maya ran for the back door, bursting inside and bellowing at everyone to drop what they were doing and grab a weapon.

---

Just like outside Zurich, Nikki's incredible senses had caught them early again. This time, however, something wasn't right. As Connar ran around the building and into the front, he began to hear the helicopters, he settled his mind and focussed in on them for remote viewing.

The world became a blank aspect, only living things were highlighted in aura, the other whispers shone brightly in their aura, all now in a flurry of activity as they ran between the buildings of the commune and set themselves into defensive positions.

Nikki shone the brightest, he saw her as she truly was, beneath the surface. He focussed all his projection onto the incoming helicopters as they crested the hills to the west… they looked… empty… He could see through the metal, through the walls, nothing stood out, nothing illuminated in its aura aspect… only a void... "Echo Drones". He chambered a round in the Genesis 12 and checked his sidearm.

Connar looked around. The Whispers of the Sud'ba Storozhit' were well trained and well armed. Dimitri had clearly used his influence to outfit their ranks with the latest weaponry and they moved very well. They set up shields and firing positions with SHAK-12's and AK12's, AN94's and PKM's on the rooftop.

"Everyone ready, protect the ones who can't fight, everyone else to the escape tunnels" Dimitri's voice came over the radio, then he added "Going Dark". A second later, all the lights around the various buildings of the commune went out. Connar realised he may need better range and slung the Genesis 12, he'd need it in close quarters. He took one of the SHAK-12's from the rack the guards had placed at the interior of the porch, then set himself in position.

---

Nikki ran through the 2nd floor, yelling for everyone to get ready, she as she did, she sensed what was coming, over the years, she had focussed on her own psychic acuity, it went along with her heightened senses and was beyond what the others could achieve, it extended to everything.

When she had encountered Robbie Lewellyn in L.A. her ability kicked in after he came out of the shower, showing him in a sickly green aspect. She focussed hard, projecting her mind and viewing the incoming helicopters, as they came in. A Black Hawk and a Chinook variant she wasn't familiar with.

She sensed the same thing she had when the Echo Drone attacked them in the Mall, her body wasn't the only thing that adapted, her senses also adapted and lit them up in the same sickly green aspect, their minds were still hard to see, and she realised that the others may be having difficulty remote viewing them.

Nikki walked to the far end of the floor, where she found two of the Whispers moving a heavy KORD 12.7mm Heavy Machine gun into position. One of them attached the box of shells while the other loaded it. Nikki watched them and memorised the process… she could use this. She had seen what those Echo Drone things were capable of and wasn't going to hold back.

"Privet, rebyata!" (Hello guys!) Nikki announced as she approached. Nikki strode up to them confidently and inspected the heavy gun emplacement and ran her hand along it, she opened it up, checked it and then took hold of the attached box, giving it a small rattle to make sure it was secure "Mne nuzhno odolzhit' eto…" (I need to borrow this…)

The two young men looked at one another, but before either of them could say anything, Nikki grabbed the Heavy KORD and tore it free from it's mount, effortlessly shouldering it like it was a regular assault rifle without breaking a sweat.

They both backed up, both staring at her with wide eyes as she pulled the charging handle and chambered a round. "Ves'ma priznatelen mal'chiki… Spasibo" (Much obliged boys… thanks) Nikki said over her shoulder as she made her way to the stairs, she could sense their utter shock and she could feel them staring at her as she walked away. With a smirk, Nikki added "I perestan' pyalit'sya na moyu zadnitsu!" (And stop staring at my ass!).

Nikki didn't look back, she didn't need to, she heard them both run and grab other weapons.

---

Maya grabbed her GM6-LYNX and ran up to the lower roof balcony just in time to see black H-47 Chinook Block II swoop overhead, Nikki was right, she clearly knew helicopters by type, and this one wasn't to be found around here. It loomed out of the dark, flying low over the commune while several of the fighters on the roof opened fire "Net, derzhat'!" (No, Hold!) Maya shouted "Podozhdite tselevoy vozmozhnosti" (Wait for target opportunity).

Maya hit the switch and extended the reciprocating barrel, then she got into a prone position and waited, "Shit" she uttered "We need Anti-Air". The commune was surrounded on one side by a thick forest, and on the other were two small hills, to the east, was flat land that eventually sloped down to the lake. The Chinook swooped around and set itself between the two hills, utilizing cover from any RPG's.

Maya watched through her binoculars as twenty five heavily armoured figures disembarked and got into a standard pattern formation. They were definitely the Echo Drones, Maya knew their armour was incredibly strong and they could take a lot of punishment.

Ten of them began to advance. They weren't the only problem, the other helicopters were still incoming, they were close… Maya knew this was a probing force… "OPEN FIRE!" Maya called out in Russian. There were ten Fighters on the balcony with her, all of whom opened up at the same time.

The front rank of Echo Drones broke ranks and went into cover behind the rocks on the slope to the north of the Commune. They returned fire. One of the Whispers went down, the rest got behind the deployable cover they had set up while the one who was hit was dragged to safety by his comrades. Maya threw herself flat as a burst struck the rooftop shed next to her and obliterated it.

She sighted in on one of the Echo Drones, he was roughly five hundred metres away, popping up behind a rock to fire bursts. His armour looked scuffed, it may have been the one from the Mall. Rounds impacted all around her, Maya ignored them, there was nothing but her, and her target . . . SEND IT…

Maya squeezed the trigger and waited… the round struck the Echo Drone directly between the three ocular sensors on his helmet, the helmets were rated for anything up to and including .308 as long as it wasn't direct sustained fire… Maya had switched up her loadout to Armour Piercing 50. BMG. Maya watched as the head obliterated and the Echo Drone fell backwards. There were two more coming in behind him, both with LMG's firing in bursts. Maya sighted in again, taking out another, then a third.

She switched her scope to Night Vision and searched for more targets. There were seven more in that formation, but they had spread themselves out and gone into cover. Maya redirected to the ones that hung back and saw they were setting up a Mortar.

That took priority. Maya sighted in on the Mortar team, they were being protected by two more armed with LMG's who were set in firing positions. She took out one, but another darted out from cover and took it's place. They were delaying until they could get the commune dialled in. There were families here, children, not to mention Whisper Leadership. Maya couldn't let that happen, she Sighted in and took out two more but that was when half the rooftop was strafed by one of the MH-6 Little Birds.

They missed Maya by mere inches, she was so focussed on the drones. She looked up and saw the Little Bird coming in and fly over the commune. Two Echo Drones were locked into the back seats with machine guns, strafing the commune. They were trying to clear the rooftop and secure a landing zone. Maya knew she needed to prioritise this now, as she watched the MH6 swoop into a turn, it was coming back for another run. Off in the distance, she could see the other one coming in.

Maya turned, picked up her rifle and sighted in, looking for the pilot. It wouldn't be the first time she had shot down a helicopter with a rifle, it wasn't easy, but the next few seconds were life or death.

Maya found the target 3…2.. Maya never made the shot. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, she was rocked by a massive concussive burst. Had she not put in her ear protection, she would have had her eardrums blown out for sure. She threw herself flat, an ingrained response from her training. She rolled and to her astonishment it was Nikki…

Nikki was on the roof, wielding a KORD 12.7 HMG like it was a toy. She had ripped it from its emplacement and was using what was left of the stand as a foregrip. She raised the giant machine gun like it was a common rifle and aimed, then let off a prolonged burst directly at the approaching MH-6.

Maya watched as a stream of tracer rounds impacted the front of the small attack helicopter and turned the Echo Drone pilots into lumps of viscera. Nikki didn't even flinch from the recoil, to her, it was like firing a BB gun. The Helicopter went out of control and veered off to the right, clipping the edge of the rooftop as it went down, impacting the ground on the west side of the commune and going up in a giant fireball.

As it passed over the roof, the two Gunner Drones saw their chance, dropping and rolling onto the rooftop. They were clearly agile and precise in their movements, despite that bulky armour. Nikki wasted no time, turning the heavy KORD on them and putting a burst into each.

"Incoming" Maya shouted, but Nikki was already ahead of her as the second MH-6 swooped in from the South. The gunners opened up, Nikki was struck several times, but the rounds failed to penetrate. She didn't even flinch, in fact, to Maya's amazement, she began to advance along the rooftop, clamping her finger around the trigger. The KORD chattered, reverberating and sending giant muzzle flares.

A stream of heavy tracers slammed into the oncoming MH-6 and it promptly exploded in mid air, what was left of it came in so low over the roof that Nikki was forced to duck. It careened out across the front of the commune, destroying several vehicles as it impacted in a massive secondary explosion.

Maya looked up and spotted the Black Hawk in the distance. It looked like it was coming in to drop troops, but swiftly veered off. Nikki raised the KORD and let off several bursts in it's direction, Maya watched several of her tracers hit home, but it turned and rabbited. "That's right… run" Nikki uttered. "Thanks Nikki, and remind me never to piss you off!" Maya shouted. Nikki merely shrugged "I am Pissed off, but... you're welcome".

Maya rolled over and re-positioned herself. For her part, Nikki turned her attention to the slope where several Echo Drones were advancing and began firing bursts. Maya let the world fall away again as she sighted in on the Mortar Team.

She was too late. She sent off a shot, taking out a single Echo Drone on the Mortar Team, but they also got off a shot. Maya watched as the Mortar round came over and detonated on the south-east edge of the rooftop, killing three of the Whispers positioned there and destroying the floor below. Nikki bared her teeth in anger and opened up with the KORD.

Her fire at that distance was surprisingly accurate. Maya watched through the scope as two more were taken out and the Mortar team scrambled to re-position, the others scattered to cover.

Nikki turned and shouted to one of the Whispers, calling out to him in Russian "Hay… Go get more ammo, I'm running low!". Normally, Maya might have thought the way she yelled at him to be overly rude, but under the circumstances, with what she just did, she earned it.

The young man looked at her in amazement for a moment "NOW would be good!" Nikki added and he ran and practically jumped down the rooftop hatch.

---

DRC - CENTRAL AFRICA

"What in God's name!" Gaunt had been forced to link to no fewer than six Echo Drones in the past few minutes. In battle, you could prepare for a lot of things… but a psycho bitch with a cannon wasn't one of them… the same bitch who jumped off the rooftop of the Orphanage… he knew there was something strange about her.

Now he was observing from a drone held in reserve on the other side of the hill. That blonde bitch was truly something else, it was impossible to wield a weapon of that size the way she did. Gaunt had seen very strong men try and they struggled with it.

"Mr Gaunt… please try not to destroy any more of my helicopters…They don't grow on trees" Armin Saulaimann's voice came over the radio channel. "Apologies, Sir, they appear to be heavily defended, are you seeing this?" Gaunt asked.

There was a slight pause. Gaunt knew that Saulaimann and his colleagues were up in his office, observing the operation on a large screen "Who is that woman?" Gaunt heard Saulaimann ask in a semi-rhetorical tone. "Well, Sir… I'll make a point to ask her… sending in the rest".

Gaunt was sitting in the Drone Control Suite with a Neural Control Networked headset, with it, he could take control of any of the Echo Drones and command the others via a sophisticated AI system.

There were eight other operators in the room with him, specialists he had hand picked "Right lads, we can't afford any more cock-ups, the boss and his backers are watching, let's give them a good show… prioritise the younger one's for Shade recruitment… kill the rest… someone take out that bitch with the MG, but Braden and Durand are mine!".

He re-engaged, seeing the vision of the drone on the hillside. It was as if its body was his own. This particular Drone was once a drug mule named Arron Peterson, a man who wanted more money for his upcoming wedding. Gaunt had developed contacts in the drug trade, as well as a number of Human Trafficking organisations to supply healthy individuals for Saulaimann to turn into his Echo Drones. Lobotomized and implanted with Neural Interlink.

While the whole world formed conspiracy theories around the Neuralink chip, Saulaimann and his team of scientists and engineers had pioneered the Echo Interface. The system was AI controlled, allowing teams of Echo Drones to be set to a task without a direct controller, and they would carry it out to the letter.

Through the Drone, Gaunt gave the signal to Sam Ronick and Lauren Tanis to send in their squads. Gaunt watched through his Drone as the engines of the two Bastion APC's containing their squads roared to life.

The Black Hawk Pilot was under the control of Griffin to his left in the control suite "Griffin, once we get over the hill, come in to three hundred metres and drop your drones into the forest, I'll keep them busy for you".

He then turned opened a channel to Rone, the Chinook pilot "Be ready for extraction". Gaunt ordered Wade who was controlling the re-positioned mortar team to keep up the volley fire until the Bastions cleared the hill, and then advance providing cover fire. He also had 10 more gunner Drones standing behind him waiting for the signal.

"Advance" he ordered. The Bastions roared past him as his drone and its two escorts advanced on foot. The bastions chewed up the grassy hillside and he watched as the heavy fire on the rooftop started again. "Ohh…you are one magnificent bitch… who are you?" Gaunt uttered. This time, he was bringing the fire. The ten strong squad of Gunner Drones, all armed with XM250 Light Machine Guns all came over the hill and began firing.

Both of his escort drones raised their XM250's and commenced firing as they advanced. Gaunt's drone was armed with an ArmaLite AR-10. Normally the advanced Helmets were unsuited for Scope work, but this was different, his Drone's DMR was a remote zoom scope linked the the HUD Display inside the helmet and relayed through the ocular implant.

Gaunt switched his view to the scope, raised the DMR and sighted in on the woman wielding the KORD "Want a job done right?…". Gaunt fired a 7.62 High Explosive round aimed right in the centre of her chest.

Gaunt, and no doubt Saulaimann who was observing through the feed watched as the High Explosive round struck her. She was mid burst with the KORD and it flicked upwards sending 12.7mm tracer rounds up in a wide arc as she flew over backwards and went down hard.

"Well, that takes care of that little problem, now, find me that fucking mungrel bastard!" Gaunt said and ordered his Drones to advance. No doubt Maya was up there with her rifle, Gaunt Ordered his Drones to maintain suppressive fire on the rooftop during their advance. It was then that movement caught his eye… he looked up and used the Helmet feed to zoom in, it was HER… The woman with the KORD was back on her feet!

"Impossible" Gaunt uttered. The woman let loose a long, feral scream of rage as she opened up with the KORD in all directions. Gaunt saw it, Saulaimann also saw it, she wasn't wearing any body armour, just a plain white t-shirt, and that explosive round hit her directly in the sternum, there was no way she could get up from that.

Gaunt moved his Drones into cover behind the rocks on the edge of the compound as 12.7mm rounds thundered all around them, one wasn't so lucky and caught a barrage of fire. Echo Drones had no sense of pain, the Drone took one in the knee and arm, blowing off both limbs. He went face down but immediately knelt up on his stump and continued firing one handed until more rounds came in and blew him apart.

The barrage of fire stopped, Gaunt looked up and zoomed in, she was reloading… this was their chance "Concentrate fire on that bitch and keep advancing" Gaunt shouted over the feed to the other Drone operators. He watched as a number of Echo Drones stood up and began to advance, firing their XM250's. The rooftop where the woman was reloading was hit with automatic fire from all angles.

Gaunt watched the Bastions smash through the front of the compound, taking fire. The two squads of Echo Drones got out and began to sweep away the outer defences. Their armour was more than capable of putting up with smaller munitions.

It was then that he saw one of them go down, then another, blown apart by explosive rounds. He zoomed in… "Braden" he hissed. "Don't get sidetracked" Saulaimann said over the feed. Gaunt felt a stab of frustration, he wanted him… he wanted him bad for what he had done to him in the Silo… there was no way he could, or would let that go unanswered, Connar Braden belonged to him, and nobody, not even Saulaimann would get in the way of that.

Gaunt had to stay on task "Ronick… will you please go get that fucking prick, just wound him if you can, I want him personally". "You got it" Ronick said over the feed and redirected part of his squad.

Gaunt led his Drones into the compound and ordered them to split into two-by-two formations, spread out, take out any remaining Whisper Fighters and collect the others to be turned into Shades.

Through the late Charles Roland and Project Morrigan, and his pursuit of Durand and Braden when they jumped ship he had come to understand the Whispers, a globe spanning secret society of Sighted individuals.

Some of them were members of special forces and trained the others to an almost Tier-1 level of operational proficiency. The Morrigan operators he and Roland trained, the Ravens, they were something much more lethal… still he was curious… that woman… she had done things beyond even their capability… who was she?

The Echo Drones were heavily armoured but they were ultimately disposable, Gaunt had been forced to accept it when he joined Saulaimann, these Echo Drones were the future of warfare. They would take useless individuals, the homeless, criminals and convicts and recycle them into the perfect killing machines. The Shades were a step higher.

They would be the next generation of Morrigan Ravens, after some minor surgery, they would retain their sighted abilities, but they would be highly susceptible to suggestion and carry out any order without question.

"Sweep forward" Gaunt ordered. The Drones began breaching the buildings on the compound. A furious firefight erupted as Whisper fighters caught them in overlapping fields of fire. Their armour, for the most part, was able to stand up to what they were throwing at it, still, two Drones went down. Gaunt spotted Braden for a second time as he darted out between two containers and blew off the heads of three more drones.

"Ronick will you fucking deal with him" Gaunt shouted. "I'm on it, bossman" Ronick replied from across the control suite. Gaunt watched as he broke off three pairs of drones in his squad and sent them after Braden "Pincer him in that container yard" Gaunt said "And watch out, he's a wily little cunt!".

Gaunt activated a remote display in his Drone's HUD and watched through the vision of Ronick's pointman, a Breacher Drone. It entered the small container yard area and no sooner had it rounded a corner than it tripped something, a frag grenade went off to its side and Connar Braden was instantly on it, jumping down from above.

The Drone raised its rifle, but Braden grabbed the barrel, taking it offline and kicked the Drone in the abdomen, sending it back. As the Drone steadied itself and attempted to re-acquire a target, he saw Braden raise the Genesis 12. The shotgun discharged an explosive round directly into the Drone's more lightly protected groin area. As it fell back, Gaunt saw the muzzle of the shotgun come up and then the drone's feed went dead.

"Do I need to emphasize my point any fucking further Ronick?" Gaunt said harshly. "No Sir…" Ronick replied, sounding exasperated. Gaunt watched him redirect and put another drone on point, this one was armed with a standard AR15, however it had a PULSEFIRE UBF Flamethrower mounted on the rifle.

The Drone moved through putting everything to the flame and cleared the container yard in moments, Gaunt switched his view to see they had indeed driven Braden out the other end and into a series of Prefab buildings, he covered his escape with a burst of explosive Frag-12 rounds from the Shotgun that knocked one of the Drones down but it was still serviceable "There you go, you've got him on the run… now go in there and get him, send your squad to cover the exits and your torch guy can burn him out the other end".

"CONNAR!" Gaunt heard a voice scream from the corner of the roof and then a thunderous barrage was directed down onto Ronick's' Drone squad. Gaunt barely had time to get his own Drone and those under his control into cover before she swept over them with a hail of anti vehicle rounds.

"Fuck, that's it, I've had enough of that bitch, Wade, drop a Mortar on that roof now!" Gaunt said "We can't breach the main building while that bitch is firing that fucking cannon!".

---

SEND IT Maya took out another Echo Drone with a headshot but a larger force were advancing, four more Whispers had been killed on the rooftop, only she and Nikki remained.

She saw Connar get driven through the containers to the right of the main building by a drone with a flamethrower and if Nikki wasn't berzerk before, something about seeing that flamethrower sent her over the edge, she unleashed a barrage of unending fire while screaming. The young Whisper who had brought her a fresh ammo box was on his knees behind her with his hands over his ears. Several more bursts hit her as advancing Drones opened up on her but she didn't seem to notice, she was in a blind rage.

She kept screaming and firing, Maya couldn't decide what was louder, the sound coming out of her, or the reports of the KORD. Connar's voice came over Maya's radio "I got out, tell Nikki thanks". "I think she's a little busy, but get to the main building, they're gonna breach". "Wilco" Connar replied. "Nikki… NIKKI…" Maya shouted. Nikki glanced and glared at her. "He got out… he's downstairs, hit the one's coming down the middle".

After a few moments, Nikki raised the KORD and opened up in full auto again, sweeping her fire over the front of the compound, Maya saw a few Drones go to bloody pieces under her barrage until she ran dry.

Nikki knelt and called to the Whisper who had been doing Ammo runs for her "GET OVER HERE NOW!". He hesitated for a moment, but jumped up to his feet and began crossing the rooftop… The next thing Maya saw, everything turned to fire.

Her ears were ringing and she felt something warm trickle down her nose "Nikki… get to…get to the tunnel". Maya fought hard to stay lucid. A Mortar, that's what it must've been. In the next instant, Nikki was on top of her, Maya was only partially aware of a hissing sound, another one coming in.

Maya stood up and felt Nikki barrel into her, knocking her down as the Drones at the front of the compound opened fire. The second Mortar hit right where she was standing moments ago. Nikki was on top of her now, shielding her "Come on Maya, we need to get off this fucking roof". Before she could say anything, Nikki picked her up and half pushed, half carried her to the rooftop hatch, then dropped her down.

Maya recovered enough to land on her feet and look up. Nikki dropped down after her. They ran across the 3rd floor together and Maya put down her rifle and picked up an AN-94 from a fallen Whisper, reloading her pouches with his magazines and moving on.

They reached the stairs, but that was when Nikki stopped "I hear someone". Nikki moved off to the other end of the floor, Maya followed but Nikki turned "No, go help Connar, I've got this!".

Maya hesitated, she didn't want to leave Nikki's side, they were a team now, more than a team… family "Nikki…". "Go Maya, I'll catch up". Maya reluctantly nodded, knowing how capable Nikki was and ran back to the stairs.

---

Connar had taken out several of these things. They may have been psychic blank, but each time he killed one, he did get a small sense… and that emotion was… relief. Their existence must be torture, watching through your own eyes as you were forced to do these things. He didn't know who they were before this happened to them… were they soldiers or civilians? They were force marched into a hail of bullets and something deep down, suppressed, was still there… that was beyond anything Project Morrigan ever did… that was hell.

"Get back from the door, Overlapping fire" Connar called out in Russian to the Whispers who were converging in the main part of the house. Dimitri came up from the basement armed with a Saiga 12. "They're heavily armoured, when that door breaches, use grenades and aim for the joints" Dimitri said and chambered a shell. "Ahh, a man after my own heart" Connar said, seeing that Dimitri had selected a similar weapon. "I saw you kill a few of them on the cameras with those explosive shells… two can play that game".

"Well, welcome player 2… Dimitri, let's kill these things". Maya jumped in at his side and got into position. "Where's Nikki?" he asked. "Someone's trapped up there, she's helping". Just at that moment there was a massive explosion and half the floor came down on the west side of the commune.

Nikki was up there, but Connar barely had time to react before the door breached and Echo drones flooded in. Grenades went off, but the first rank were using heavy ballistic shields and returned fire. "We cannot let them get to the tunnels, the others have to get away" Dimitri shouted as he fired.

The Drones kept pushing. One Whisper fell, then another, and another, before long, their formation collapsed as the heavily armoured attackers relentlessly advanced. Connar got several Frag 12's in between the shields and hit two Drones in the head, sending blood and brain matter everywhere. Dimitri also hit one, but they it was too much. "Fall back… FALL BACK!".

Connar moved from Cover to cover as the drones swept through the house. There had been upwards of forty fighting Whispers in this commune, now that number had been halved. They covered each other as they retreated through the commune.

A Drone came in from the corridor to their left, Connar spotted it at the last second, shoved Maya out of the way and blasted it back with several Frag 12's before reloading. "Thanks" Maya said "Too close". "We need to get to the forest" Connar replied "Right now". "Get behind me" Dimitri said and threw a grenade at the advancing drones.

They got into cover as the grenade detonated and then Dimitri used a military sign to direct the remaining fighters to the rear of the compound, facing the woods.

Most of the wall had already collapsed on the south west corner, allowing them a swift Exit. Connar, Dimitri and Maya provided rear guard, taking out several more Drones in the Process, but they just kept coming.

Connar threw his last grenade, and aimed it at a small Bar area next to the hallway. As the Drones streamed into the room, the grenade detonated, all of the flammable beverages immolated the first three drones to enter the room, Connar took the opportunity and raised the Genesis 12.

He was easily able to take out all three, followed by a fourth, but the next one that entered was armed with one of those fucking UBF Flamethrowers and doused the room in flames.

"Don't you ever waste good Vodka like that again Braden" Dimitri growled as they jumped out through the hole and landed on the grass. There were fewer buildings on this side of the compound and less cover. Seeing firing at the far end, Connar looked up and to his horror, there were three Drones on the edge of the tree line with XM250 machine guns. The Whispers who had entered the area were pinned down, some were wounded.

A Black Hawk was circling and there was a door gunner firing down. "Shit" Maya seethed. They ran and the three of them got into cover between a large log and a small Prefab shed. Four other Whispers were already taking shelter there. "Who has ammo?" Dimitri called out. Only two of the four Whispers had any ammunition left and one of them was down to a sidearm.

"Well you little fucking Mongrel… here we are again" Gaunt's voice said. Connar leaned up and saw the Drones were exiting the building through the hole and forming a skirmish line. One Drone was standing in the centre, obviously it wasn't Gaunt, but it stood like him and its body language was the same as his… these things were clearly under some kind of high end mental control.

One of the other Drones, this one with a female voice began to speak "The compound is ours sir… A few got into an escape tunnel, but we caught about two dozen in the basement". "Very good, prep for transport" the Gaunt drone said. Connar was under no illusions they could have had that exchange without being overheard, they were clearly somewhere else directing these things, but they wanted him, and Maya and Dimitri to hear that.

"Tell you what, Connar, I'm feeling generous…" The Gaunt Drone began "Why don't you step out, lay down your weapons and I promise I won't turn you into one of our amazing Echo's here… you'll be a shade, like Ethan… and you can go back to being my dog again… but, I promise, no wetwork this time… you can mow the lawn, do the dishes … you any good at cooking?".

"I'm good at peeling, you know that Gaunt" Connar quipped back. Connar did a shell count, he had only one magazine left for the Shotgun, he had his sidearm, but he also had his tactical sword, he resolved in his mind that he wasn't going to let Gaunt take him alive. Maya was thinking the same thing, as was Dimitri.

"Oh, see, comments like that make me feel less generous… I was going to keep you in the house, but I think we'll just have to keep you in a cage out back… just like old times… oh by the way… who the fuck was that bitch on the roof?"

Maya and Dimitri pulled out their sidearms and handed them to the two Whispers who had no ammunition. Connar pulled off his helmet and let it roll away, he knew it was over for them. He looked up at Maya "Did Nikki make it?". Maya stared back at him and her eyes reddened "I don't know".

That settled it in Connar's mind… since meeting Nikki, he had changed, she had reconnected him to the world and made it seem brighter again, she made him want to be different, to be better… if she was gone, then he wasn't willing to live in a world without her.

"I'm losing patience, hurry up now!" Gaunt said. There was only one thing left to do, say goodbye.

"Maya…you saw me through the worst, you're family… and I'm a better person for having known you" he uttered. "Likewise… you scrappy little bollocks" Maya said, wiping her eyes with a smile "You're the only family I ever had… you're my brother".

Turning to the older man "Dimitri…" Connar offered his hand and Dimitri took it "It's been a pleasure". "Dasvidaniya moy drug" (So long, my friend) Dimitri said and chambered a round. Maya checked the magazine on the AN-94 and reloaded her last magazine, then she looked at him and nodded "I'll see you on the other side". They clapped hands together and got ready.

"Gaunt" Connar shouted. "What is it Mungrel" Gaunt answered, sounding like a man who knew he'd won. "Since you weren't man enough to come here and face us in person, and you're probably controlling that thing from some far-flung piss soaked coward corner… when I tell you that you're the gold standard of pussies… you know I'm telling the truth…".

Connar shifted into a kneeling position ready to come up firing, and poked his head up over the log to look at the Echo Drones arrayed before them… that's when he felt it… it was small at first, then it rose like a fire. He caught a flickering vision, blue, floating forms, something awakening… something powerful… "Nikki" he uttered. Maya clearly felt it too as she inhaled a small gasp.

The Gaunt Drone made a beckoning gesture but then a shape moved in the destroyed building behind him. It was Nikki… in her true form!

She hopped up onto a second floor balcony that was partially collapsed, where she pitched herself on the edge squat position, then she drew air into her lungs and let out the most deafening roar of unrestrained fury he had ever heard… yet he did not cover his ears, he wanted to hear it.

The Gaunt Drone and several others turned too late as Nikki leaped high into the air, arms spread, claws bared and came down hard into the centre of their ranks. They all began firing wildly.

Connar raised the Genesis 12 and began firing at the periphery of the Drone's ranks. All the remaining Whispers followed suit, rising from their cover and firing. Connar glanced behind and saw the three Drones at the far end near the tree line begin to run, they were trying to move around the edge of the compound to aid the others who were being torn asunder by Nikki.

The Drones began to retreat, but Nikki didn't stop, she was right in the middle of them rending and tearing. She took one drone and tore it clean in half above her head, roaring with an unmatched fury, the others opened fire, but she ignored it, using her tendrils to grab another, pulling it off it's feet and slamming it into its other squad members, she fell upon then with in an unrestrained vicious frenzy, digging her claws into their bodies and tearing flesh from bone, organs, limbs, heads.

Connar advanced, sending round after round into the other drones as they performed a fighting retreat. The Genesis 12 clicked empty, in one fluid move, he dropped the shotgun letting it hang in its sling by his side, and pulled his Staccato XC. He came up firing, aiming for the joints, anywhere vulnerable, Rolling one Drone to the ground and dispatching it by lifting it's visor, and firing up under it's chin, he stabbed another with his Tactical Sword, pinning it against a wall while he ended it in the same manner before moving on.

Only a few seconds ago, Connar was positive he was going to die, he was ready… now, with Nikki here, he felt invincible, and he wasn't the only one. He sensed the same emotions from Maya, from the other Whispers, and even Dimitri, all of whom, with the exception of Maya, had never witnessed her in her true form.

He had sensed their initial shock and confusion, and he didn't blame them, they saw her now as she truly was, as he saw her, beautiful, elemental, and incomprehensibly powerful.

---

Now I've got you, you fucking arsehole Gaunt was genuinly curious what Connar would do, would he give himself up, or would he go down fighting… Gaunt knew the next few seconds would be very interesting and wished he was there in person to savour the moment.

Connar's words, calling him a coward, filled him with a near uncontrollable rage to the point where he almost gave the order to fire. Come on Braden, let's see who you really are… I know what I'd do, I'd go down fighting… let's see what you'll do Gaunt was genuinely curious.

He heard them say something to each other, but the Drone's ears didn't pick it up, then he thought he saw them shift. Gaunt got ready, as did the drones under his command Tanis' squad were also on his line and ready.

That was when he saw Connar's head pop up slowly… Come on Braden, what are you gonna do? He thought. It was then he noticed Connar's odd coloured eyes glance up, but before he could make the drone turn, the most soul shattering roar issued forth above him.

Gaunt looked up and couldn't believe what he saw … something… pitched on the ledge where the wall had been blown out on the 2nd floor. It had a translucent quality, a hard chitinous body in a hyper feminine form. It's arms ended in large, lethal looking claws. Bright, reptilian looking eyes bored into him from a face that vaguely resembled a human's, but the skin was like a carapace..

The expression on it's face was a fury he had never seen, it bared sharp teeth behind rage quivering lips. Where the ears should have been were two downward curled "horns", he wasn't sure, and the hair was a swept back collection of fleshy tendrils.

"Oh jesus christ what the fuck is THAAAAAAA" When linked to a Drone, it was easy to forget at times, either when hyper focussed or in Gaunt's case, enjoying the moment, that it was not your body… seeing that… thing coming at him before he could even raise his weapon to defend himself, in that moment, sent a jolt of fear right through him. Gaunt had served in a number of highly dangerous missions in the SAS, but he had never seen anything like that…

Gaunt realised too late that he and Tanis had not opened fire out of pure astonishment for those precious few seconds. Before he could give the order, raise his rifle or do anything, the thing leapt high up into the air and spread its deadly claws, then came down on top of them in a perfect dive. The last thing Gaunt's Drone saw was one of its claws coming at its face.

Braden, Durand, The old man and the remaining Whisper Fighters all chose that moment to jump out of cover and start shooting. The Drones in that squad were taking a serious battering from every angle.

Gaunt was cut from the drone and found himself almost hyperventilating in the control suite.

No, he had to go back in, he had to finish it. He re-engaged to a Breacher Drone in the squad, but in the time it took him to load back in, the first sight he saw when the Neural link opened was the thing coming at the new Drone, it tore off the helmet and crushed the drone's head before he could do anything.

Gaunt disengaged… considered his options and then pulled down control panel The Black Hawk… he thought "Griffin, I'm taking over your Door Gunner". "Go for it" Griffin replied "What the fuck is that thing?". "I have no fucking clue" Gaunt spat "But it won't be bothering us much longer".

---

Nikki had found the trapped Whispers, a beam had fallen on top of them from the first explosion. The floor was ready to collapse and the room was on fire. One of them was pinned, and the other had a badly broken leg. She recognised them both, the two young men from whom she'd "Borrowed" the big machine gun.

She asked their names and other details as she cleared away the debris, trying to keep them calm, it turned out they were brothers, Artyom and Nikita Kholodov and they came from a city called Omsk, on the Irtysh River in Siberia. When she asked them how they ended up all the way out here, they told her they were recruited to the army on their national service.

They had always been Sighted and had been bullied on occasion, Dimitri had toured their base for an inspection. Apart from their Mother, they had never met another Sighted person before, Dimitri had recruited them and trained them, they had learned from him and he had brought them into the SVR, but also into the Whispers.

During the brief conversation, Nikki found herself thinking of what Maya had told her about the American Coven. Their new leader was rather young, but she was already an Assistant Special Agent in Charge with the FBI, the previous West coast Coven leader was head of the CIA Special Activity… this was how the higher levels of the Whispers worked… to maintain a good flow of intelligence, they moved their people into positions of authority so they were perfectly positioned to watch for threats to the Sighted.

Dimitri clearly had plans for these two and saw potential in them. Nikki began to lift the beam and Nikita cried out in pain, he had a compound fracture. Artyom was able to pull himself free and reached over to help his brother. It was then that Nikki heard that familiar hissing sound "GET DOWN!" She threw herself over them both a split second before the Mortar hit. The roof came down on top of them and the floor collapsed.

Nikki got hit by a falling beam and was momentarily dazed. She came around a few moments later and her vision cleared. Artyom was still alive, laying underneath her, he was screaming at his brother to wake up… Nikita was gone, impaled on the same beam that hit Nikki.

Everything was on fire. She remembered the fire, the heat, the pain… she was trapped. She remembered the scream, she remembered the agony, she remembered how it felt to lose everything…. No… Not like this… NOT AGAIN!

Artyom was pinned beneath her, struggling, she stopped, she closed her eyes… if this was it, she was going to make these bastards remember it….

Nikki closed her eyes and let it out… it rose from within, lighting up every nerve, it felt like falling in a dream, letting the mask slip. She felt her skin tighten and shift, she felt her already keen senses becoming sharper still… she didn't know whether Connar was alive, or Maya… rage stirred within her heart, and burned hotter than any fire that could touch her… Whispers liked to say they did not fear the flames… there was a time she did… but no longer.

Spikes erupted from her back and she opened her eyes. She looked down at the young man beneath her, he was staring at her with wide eyes, filled with abject fear as she finished her transformation.

It was hard to form words like this, only short phrases. Nikki leaned down into his face "No… more… fear…". Nikki then arched her back and braced herself against the beam that was pinning them. She ripped it clean in half and freed Artyom.

Nikki grabbed him and pulled him up, they had clearly gone through the floor to the basement level. She managed to burrow through the wreckage and drag Artyom, coughing and choking out onto an undamaged hallway on the first floor. He rolled free and managed to crawl away. "Weapon" Nikki uttered and pointed at a fallen Drone with its head blown off.

Artyom leaned down and took the XM250 from the body "We need to go" he coughed. Nikki heard shooting out near the back of the compound and sensed Connar was alive. At that moment, she was filled with relief. She knew she needed to get to him if they were going to survive.

"Go… way out" Nikki pointed. Artyom hesitated… Nikki was already angry "GO!" she roared. Artom almost fell, but recovered and ran to the side exit. He would be able to get out and join any retreating Whispers from there.

Nikki looked up and saw a hole that led to the second floor. Leaping up and swinging herself out onto the outcropping of a partially destroyed balcony, she saw the scene unfolding before her… the Whispers were all pinned down, the Drones had pincered them in and there was a large squad of Echo Drones right below her.

She spotted Connar and in that moment they made eye contact, she felt the absolute despair he was feeling turn to relief as their minds connected.

Looking down, she spotted one Drone that looked like it was leading the others and knew from the voice that came out of it, that Gaunt was controlling it… the man from the Orphanage, the one who abused Connar and Maya when they were both younger.

Good, she would show him, she would show the rest of them what awaited them in the dark… Now… you will all… KNOW ME!

Nikki announced her presence to them all. She issued forth a roar of unrestrained rage… like the night her child died… her roar was long and loud. All of the collected Echo Drones turned. Before they could open fire she was on them.

Nikki had seen what they did, she had seen what they were, they were empty of all emotion and humanity, being controlled by people who were brutal and devoid of mercy, but they didn't know her, they didn't know Sil… and she could be worse… there was only one thing to do… RIP AND TEAR, UNTIL IT IS DONE!

Nikki slammed into the squad of Drones, at that very moment a thunderous exchange of fire erupted as every single Whisper in unison picked a target and began firing. Only a handful of them had weapons capable of penetrating the Echo Drone's armour, but they knew to aim for the joints, it created a useful distraction.

The Drones began to retreat and Nikki heard the Black Hawk approaching. She crushed the head of a nearby Drone and grabbed a second by the throat as it attempted to shoulder check her. The Drone was helmetless, looking at her with dead eyes while struggling, a woman's voice came out of it "What the fuck are you" as the Drone pulled out an automatic Glock and sent a burst into the side of her head.

Nikki turned and looked at the Drone for a moment before delivering a headbutt so savage that it obliterated the Drone's head. Nikki stood in the centre of a pile of blood, torn flesh and broken bones, the Drone force was retreating. They had taken a number of Whispers, those that were left were still fighting.

Nikki wiped the blood, skull fragments and brain matter off her face and looked up, the Black Hawk emerged over the edge of the tree canopy and began to turn. The door slid open and a particularly large Echo Drone with a Minigun opened up on her.

Nikki was knocked on her back by the first burst but quickly recovered. She grabbed one of the Drones Ballistic Shields and ran. Dodging burst after burst as the tracer rounds chased her. She ducked, weaved and flipped between the smaller outbuildings and equipment. At the back of the Commune.

Finally, Nikki saw her opportunity when she saw a set of four Cables, two on each side, drop out of the Black Hawk and more heavily armed Drones attached themselves ready to repel. The Gunner Drone opened up again, but Nikki was determined. She brought up the ballistic shield and charged.

She took a powerful barrage of rounds but it didn't stop her momentum this time. Nikki ran, jumped onto the roof of a Prefab and then leaped through the air with a feline grace.

The Heavy Drone was descending the cable. Nikki hurled the ballistic shield mid-leap and watched as it impacted the Heavy Drone with the force of a meteor, splitting him open at the waist and sending him tumbling to the ground. A millisecond after his hand left the Cable, Nikki had it.

She swung and tore the head off of the drone that was repelling the opposite cable. The Gunner Drone in the Black Hawk began firing wildly, but it was panic fire, he couldn't see her. Nikki grabbed the opposite cable and climbed it in seconds.

Whoever was piloting the Black Hawk panicked and swept the Helicopter over the main building of the commune. Nikki saw the wall coming at her and rather than allow herself to hit it, she used it to gracefully run up until she was back on the roof. From there, she climbed the cable.

There were three Drones in the crew compartment when Nikki grabbed the edge and climbed inside, the Gunner Drone turned and levelled the Minigun at her, but he was too late, she took hold of the rotating barrel and smashed it, the gun actually sent off a burst through the roof of the crew compartment and Nikki heard an alarm on the console.

She swiped at the Drone with her free hand and sent him flying backwards out of the Helicopter. From there, she made short work of the other heavy Drone in the Crew compartment before turning her attention to the Drone that was in the pilot seat. He half turned and fired an automatic Glock back at her, but she grabbed his arm and twisted it, hearing the bones snap before tearing it free.

Nikki reached into the cockpit, got her claw under the Pilot Drone's helmet and ripped everything away. She was sure that the Drone's expression registered surprise, hard to tell with no jaw left, before the Drone slumped over the controls and the Black Hawk pitched forward. Nikki held on, she watched as the Helicopter veered off over onto the front of the compound and then the ground came up hard.

The rotor blades chopped and split, flying off in all directions. There was a firefight happening all around but the Drone force was pulling out. Nikki climbed up onto the top of the burning wreckage of the Helicopter and watched.

In the distance, she saw the Chinook, it was ready to lift off, a number of Whispers, mainly the younger ones, children and teenagers of the families who had been caught in the basement and the escape tunnel were being dragged away.

One of the Whispers levelled an RPG-7 at the Chinook but Dimitri grabbed him "NO! Those are our people in there!". Nikki felt it again, an overwhelming rage boiling up inside her. As the Chinook took off and disappeared around the hill in the distance, Nikki threw back her head and let out an almighty roar into the sky.

She stood there, panting on top of the burning wreckage, panting from the exertion, and looking off into the distance with a burning desire for vengeance.

Before, Nikki was only doing this because she didn't want anything to happen to Connar, but now she was fully invested… she was going to find this Gaunt, or whoever was behind this… and she was going to make them pay…

Nikki stayed there, holding vigil while the Whispers collected themselves, more Whispers, the non-combatants, the families emerged from below after Dimitri gave the all clear signal. They stared at her in awe and disbelief. For her part, the way she felt at that moment, she no longer cared whether anyone knew what she was… so be it.

TRANSITION

Connar was panting and slick with sweat… for the second time this evening. He was cut, bruised and felt his heart going a mile a minute. One of the Drone's Bastion vehicles was destroyed, the other had reversed and sped away over the hill by the time he had fought his way back to the front of the compound.

When the Black Hawk impacted the ground and promptly exploded, the Drone's formation collapsed and they went into full retreat. It would have been a relief were it not for the fact they had killed over twenty Whispers, many of the younger ones from the basement had been taken. Some of the drones had pursued them into the tunnels and grabbed the children.

He watched the last one's retreat and reloaded his sidearm. He heard a groan off to his left that sounded like it was coming through an open throat mic radio. Connar raised his Staccato XC and kicked away a piece of the Black Hawk's hull which had been sheered off when it impacted the ground.

Beneath the Debris, a Heavy Gunner Drone sat up. It was missing an arm and had five deep lacerations down it's chest, Nikki had evidently swiped at this one and thrown him out of the helicopter. Connar raised the pistol to the Echo Drone's head, its dead eyes staring up at him. "Whoever you were, I'm sorry…". Connar was about to pull the trigger when the Drone's pupils dilated and its face grimaced "Hello Mungrel" it uttered in Gaunt's voice.

Connar saw the Drone was unarmed, but still connected to Gaunt "Whoever this guy was, Gaunt, he suffered enough without having you in his head, do the right thing for once in your miserable life and let him die in peace". "What the fuck would you know about peace?" the Gaunt-Drone asked "These things are disposable, and we got what we came for… but don't for a second think that I've forgotten about you… because in the end, it's gonna come down to you and me!".

Connar laughed "Yeah? Well you have to turn up in person for that, a real man would have… instead, all I get is one dead man talking to me through another…". Connar couldn't sense anything from the drone, but it's body language was linked to Gaunt, and he seethed "You can't fucking kill me, you tried once and you failed".

Connar decided to change tactics, he was determined to get a rise out of Gaunt "You know I met some of the guys from your old SAS regiment. I didn't know you faked your own death when you joined Project Morrigan, you should know that not one of them had a good word to say about you… so wait till I spread it around that not only were you alive, but that you like kidnapping kids, they'll strike your name off the regiment wall". "Say what you like…" Gaunt hissed, clearly wherever he was, that got under his skin "Because in the end, I'll fucking find you!"

In the distance, the Chinook lifted off the ground with the captives and disappeared behind the hill. Nikki was standing on top of the burning wreckage of the Black Hawk in the centre of the compound, she was in her true form… the vision of her standing up there was a powerful one, but Connar sensed her anger, her frustration at not being able to save them as she threw back her head and unleashed a deafening roar at the sky… Some others flinched at how loud it was, not Connar, he let it wash over him.

The Gaunt-Drone's head lolled to the side and it's eyes looked over at her "What the fuck is that thing?…" Gaunt said angrily. Connar grinned and glanced round at Nikki, their eyes met for a moment and their emotions connected, they both felt a weight lifted, palpable relief that they were both still alive.

Connar turned back to the Gaunt-Drone and smirked, there was no small amount of glee in his next words "Oh yeah… that's my girlfriend… and you've managed to piss her off too… that's bad for your health".

The Gaunt-Drone's face twisted into a scowl "This isn't fucking over you little C…" Before Gaunt could finish the sentence, Connar drew his Tactical Sword and beheaded the Echo Drone. Its head hit the ground with a thud. There was a small device embedded in the back of its skull with a small LCD screen. Connar watched the screen glitch and go out, spitting out a small spark.

Dimitri put out the all clear signal on the radio It was only then Connar realised just how quiet it had become and allowed himself to breathe. Even with his ear protection, his ears were ringing. He turned around and saw the survivors coming up out of the basement.

The Gathered Whispers of the Watch who had fought, and the non-combatants alike all gathered in the front of the compound, all eyes were on the powerful, inhuman figure standing on top of the burning wreckage.

Nikki was staring off in the direction of the hills, her shoulders and chest were rising and falling. Connar knew that in a few minutes she would calm down and relax enough to return to her human form. All her clothes, with the exception of her jacket, which he saw her throw down by the trees had burned away.

There were three cars by the front of the commune that miraculously weren't all shot to pieces or on fire, Connar opened them up and looked around, he found a blanket in the second car and took it.

Nikki jumped down off of the wreckage and looked around, everyone was staring in disbelief, for her part, so was Nikki. Connar knew that she had never been exposed in her true form like this before and faced with so many people, she had no idea what to do.

Connar wasn't the only one taking the initiative, Maya moved over to Nikki's side as did one of the younger Whispers, Connar had seen him when they arrived, his name was Artyom, Dimitri appeared around the side of the wreckage with his weapon still in his hands, he called out to everyone in Russian "Alright, Everyone, our own transport will be here soon… we need these fires put out, gather anything you need to travel… and collect our heroic dead…".

Everyone began to move, Connar moved through them and put the blanket around Nikki, just in time as she returned to her human form, her eyes were sore with tears "I wasn't fast enough" she uttered "I couldn't stop them". "We'll get them back Nikki" Connar said "I promise, we'll get them all back". He pulled her close and hugged her tight "I thought I lost you".

"I don't know who you really are, Nikki Toombs" Dimitri said "And I don't know what you are… but it's true what the younger ones have been saying since they heard of you…". Nikki looked up and met his eyes "What's that?" she asked in an uncharacteristically soft tone. Dimitri planted a hand on her shoulder "The Angel Protects".

---

YASENEVO DISTRICT - MOSCOW

After the attack at Redva, Amitra's plan to interrogate Roland the following day had been delayed. The Attack at Redva was not the only one. That night, there had been five simultaneous attacks by Echo Drones on Whisper Communes in France, Albania, Algeria, Croatia and Nepal. Amitra was now more desperate than ever.

Amitra's own granddaughter, Raya, had been moved to the Commune in Nepal after the first wave of attacks and she was now among the missing, as were Paul and Matilda. They had gathered everything, the weapons, what equipment they could carry and the bodies. Dimitri had flown them in two Heavy Lift Helicopters to St. Petersburg, where they had off-loaded the non-combatants, the injured and the dead.

A larger force of Whispers had been waiting for them, among them were three former Morrigan Ravens who had been travelling around the Eastern Communes bolstering the defences. Nikki hadn't really had time to get to know Marcus Wren, Erik Asger, and Yujiro Sato before moving on with Dimitri, Connar, Maya and a few others to the larger commune outside Moscow.

Everything was in chaos now. Maya would go nowhere without her GM6-LYNX rifle, likewise Connar had loaded up on Frag 12's for the Genesis 12. Neither of them would go anywhere without a weapon they knew could take down an armoured Echo Drone. Dimitri, for his part, had taken them all to an SVR Building in the Yasenevo District of Moscow.

On the surface it looked like a regular office building, Dimitri had gotten them inside using his credentials, but then they had descended several floors below in an elevator before Dimitri led them down a concrete tunnel that extended almost a mile and led to an RD laboratory bunker.

The Technology pioneered by Project Morrigan which had created the advanced Tactical AI Helmets, Gyrojet Wrist Gauntlets and Bulletproof Clothing used by Connar, Maya and the other Raven Operators.

After they escaped from Roland and joined the Whispers, that tech had all been reverse engineered by Dimitri's people in this lab. Dimitri gave Maya and Connar new, upgraded equipment. New ECM Helmets, New Gyrojet Gauntlets, new upgraded Nano-Fibre clothing. Dimitri gave them all a pouch each containing tiny, but explosive Viper Drones.

Dimitri went on to explain that the AI Systems in their upgraded gear now included a Cyber Warfare suite, allowing them to target and listen in on phone or radio chatter, disrupt enemy communications and hack security software, the nan-fibre armour was also improved.

The Gyrojet rounds they used were mainly explosive, but this lab had created armour piercing, smoke, poison, incendiary, shock and a GPS tracker dart. Were it not for the horrible circumstances, Nikki would have laughed, watching them get equipped with new gadgets. Their psychic acuity and higher than average mental discipline, a result of the psychological conditioning of Project Morrigan gave them a higher level of proficiency.

When it came to Nikki, she knew she didn't need anything, but Dimitri picked up a third backpack containing a 3rd set of the same upgraded gear "I know you like to do things… differently Nikki, but please take this, you never know… a gift" and handed it to her. "Thanks Dimitri" Nikki smiled.

Dimitri nodded, he clearly didn't want to send her out there with nothing, even though he knew she didn't need it. They moved along the long metal where Dimitri opened another container containing Ring Boxes, the kind a man might use to propose to a woman.

"How long have you two been together now" Dimitri asked with a grin, casually gesturing to Nikki and Connar. "Just over a year" Connar said "Why?". Dimitri smirked "Then it's time you made it official" and threw one of the small black boxes across the table to Connar, who looked inside. "No No No…" Dimitri said "Where's your propriety.. On your knees!".

"I never thought I'd see the day" Maya said as Connar began to grin and took a knee, he opened the ring box and Presented it to Nikki. Nikki couldn't help but laugh. "Nicole Toombs…" Connar began with a beaming grin "Will you do me the honour… I know we agreed never to say it…". Despite the fact Dimitri was having fun with them, Nikki could sense Connar was serious, she looked into his eyes "You and me… we don't need trinkets, we don't need words… we just… are… and always will be".

Nikki couldn't help but smile as she Connar took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger in the traditional way. She grabbed him in one of her unbreakable headlocks and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

Dimitri crossed his hands over his heart and feigned a cry of happiness, wiping away a nonexistent tear "Ohh… Isn't it beautiful… and appropriate, you said you didn't need trinkets or words… nor do you need prying eyes". Dimitri pointed to a monitor "Go ahead, smile for the camera".

Nikki watched the monitor, it was an angle from a CCTV camera mounted in the corner but the monitor was glitching and flickering. Connar looked up at the camera then back to the monitor "Signal Jammers?" he asked.

"Exactly" Dimitri said "Your other gear contains them, but these are for when you need to take a more subtle approach" and handed a ring box to Connar and Maya. "Come on" Dimitri said "Onto something special". As Nikki moved on, she felt Connar playfully brush his hand down her hip and smiled.

Next, Dimitri led them to a sectioned off part of the lab which contained a gun range where he reached into a locker and pulled out a very expensive looking Hermès Birkin handbag, which he placed on the metal table in front of Nikki "There you go Nikki, your wedding gift".

Now Nikki did laugh "Thanks Dimitri but I haven't really been a handbag kinda girl in a long time". "I never have been" Maya said, leaning on the table. Dimitri smirked "Oh don't worry Maya, I have one for you too, but this is just to demonstrate the dimensions, sometimes an SVR agent needs to get into a high end venue to perform some wet work… they have to look the part… especially when they have to smuggle something like what's inside".

Nikki opened the bag and found it contained something, parts of some kind of weapon she didn't recognise. Dimitri removed it and began putting it together, in less than 15 seconds the parts folded and fit together into a unique bespoke sniper rifle.

"Something powerful and unique, just like Nikki here… it uses a new hybrid round, similar to your Gyrojets, but they're timed and contained within the bullet itself… with this, you can reach out and touch someone from up to 4 miles away, then you just fold it up and go back downstairs to your martini…".

Dimitri demonstrated, he reached into the handbag and took out one of the high tech bullets, then he chambered it and aimed the rifle down the range. When he pulled the trigger, it was a small pop and a hiss instead of a normal gunshot sound and they all watched as the round travelled five hundred yards down the range and struck the target perfectly. "Nice" Maya said.

Nikki tilted her head and smirked as Dimitri collapsed the weapon down and put it back in the bag. Nikki tilted her head slightly, Dimitri continued "I know, you and Connar prefer up close and personal Nikki… but one thing I can tell about whoever is doing this… they have a lot of money behind them, meaning a lot of security, even you, might benefit from some distance".

Dimitri smiled, and handed out two more of the collapsed rifles to Connar and Maya "They're so new, they don't even have a name yet… It may not be a Kalashnicov, but how about the AKX… or The Angel's Kiss". Nikki felt a little self conscious but given the circumstances, she nodded and smirked, she knew how to lean into her own infamy when it was appropriate "I like the sound of that" Nikki said "And my kiss has been known to be lethal".

"Nikki, Maya, Connar" Dimitri said "Not for ourselves, not for our Covens, or the Whisper code… but for those we lost… for Katya, for Nikita and the others who were taken… you three are the best hope we have, find these bastards and make them pay!".

---

BRENTWOOD - WASHINGTON D.C. - 4 DAYS LATER

"She's out there… somewhere…we sensed her" it said in his head "Yet she shields herself from us… but not forever… soon, either she will come to us… or we will go to her…". "Shut up, just shut the fuck up get out of my head, stop doing this" Patrick coudn't say the words out loud, no matter how hard he tried, wanted to scream, he wanted to die, he wanted not to exist, it was like he was watching though his own eyes. It had taken Melissa… Why Melissa… his grief in that moment when he saw her had been so powerful and for some reason it had been dormant. He had taken advantage of his moment of freedom, gotten dressed, grabbed his old Shotgun and ended himself.

But it wasn't enough, it remade him, but now it had more control than ever before, Patrick figured out why… it had been able to access new parts of his brain after regenerating it in it's own image. Now, it was in control.

"I fixed you, I am you… she gave us strong offspring, but she was disposable… look around, so much flesh… so much potential, enjoy this… NO MORE DREAMING!". Suddenly it sensed something, and by extension, so did he, through its senses. A striking woman entered the bar, she was out of place with her expensive dress and shoes Why would someone like that be in a place like this? Patrick thought, and felt that uncontrollable lust rising within him, it wanted her, it made him want her.

Patrick was sitting with a glass of Whiskey by the stage, the dancer recognised him and was giving him a very special show… she was to be next, but now, this new woman who just walked in… she was stronger, she wasn't just strong, it sensed something else… she had The Sight. It was stirring within him now, it wanted this, it wanted her, it wanted her so much. It knew their offspring would be the strongest.

The woman turned to face him and her eyes immediately stood out, one was a striking hazel while the other was a deep blue. Patrick realised at that point that he knew her, he had met her before leaving for the Excursion Mission, it was at one of the big fundraiser events his father threw at his old estate. . . what was her name?

"Hello Patrick… do you remember me?" she said confidently as she sat down next to him. Patrick wanted her so much that for a moment he just stared "We met at your Father's place once… Arianna" she offered her hand. Patrick took it and her touch felt electrifying, there was a strength in her, an unmatched intellect and an indomitable will.

"I..I remember you" he uttered. Arianna glanced at the dancer and threw her five hundred dollars "There you go, sweetheart, make me forget all my problems". The Dancer looked shocked for a moment, but Arianna smiled warmly as she began to entertain them. "I'm not just talking to you, am I Patrick… I sense I'm talking to the new you…".

She knows… how could she know… It didn't matter, he wanted her and he couldn't hold back any longer and leaned in for a kiss. Her lips and tongue felt warm and her touch brought with it a power he hadn't felt before. She pulled away "You want to take me somewhere".

"Yes… I do" Patrick breathed, it was taking most of his willpower not to take her right there on the stage, he rested himself against her and kissed her again… "Were it not for the fact that I would certainly die… I would have you right now… Patrick… but I can offer you so much more, you came back from Mars with something beautiful, something changing, something that can lift us out of our stagnation and allow us to finally evolve, to rise as we should".

The thing inside him suddenly became calm, it was intrigued. Arianna moved in close "There is another… she is being held in a high security bunker at Monroe Air Force Base… soon they will try to use her to track you… when that happens, they will find she cannot be contained… she will come to you… and then… Vita Nova".

"New Life" Patrick uttered. Arianna smiled "Very good". Patrick felt confused "You know, how could you know?". Arianna took his hand and began leading him out of the bar "Because they used me to make her… now, show me where you're keeping the little ones".

---

SVART STED - NORTH NORWEGIAN SEA - 3 DAYS LATER

She dreamed about him again, she was standing naked in some old attic or barn, there were fleshy cocoons hanging on the walls and ceilings. "Sil… I'm the one you've been waiting for, what you've been longing for… come to me… together we will create wonders". Then she saw him. He looked human, but he was standing in the shadows and she couldn't see his face. Ever since Los Angeles, she had felt hollow, like a part of her had been torn out.

She had had a few short lived relationships before meeting Connar, but she found that she couldn't face the pain. Every time she thought about starting again, she remembered the pain, the fire, and the agonizing emptiness that followed. Tears rolled down her cheeks and he reached up to gently wipe them "I'm sorry… I'm not ready… and… I'm with someone".

She still couldn't see his face, the back of his hand gently stroked down her face, and then continued… lower, his electrifying touch arousing her despite herself "Stop… please". Nikki fought hard to find the strength to resist, to take a step back, leaving him standing in the shadows. "I'm sorry… no…".

In the next instant, she wan't prepared for the speed with which he came at her, now fully transformed seizing her struggling limbs with not just his hands but with the fleshy tendrils that erupted from his back slamming her against the wall… she struggled, bit and kicked but it was useless "YOU… WILL… BE… MINE…" he hissed with a malice she hadn't felt before "No.. NO!".

"NO!" Nikki awoke with a start as the Helicopter touched down. Connar reached over and grabbed her shoulder "It's ok, I'm ok… just… just a dream". Amitra was staring at her from the opposite seat, she was poker faced and gave nothing away, her rhythms were sharp but she looked like she hadn't slept "We're landing now" she said dryly.

Nikki decided she'd had enough of Helicopters over the past few days as she stepped off of the long range Bell-V 280. They were met by a large man in a black uniform and Nikki immediately felt uneasy. Amitra, Rust and Maya walked ahead but Connar hung back with her "It was him again wasn't it? The one who's been bothering you". Nikki nodded and squeezed his hand tightly "I'm ok… whatever it is, we'll deal with it… let's just get this over with".

"I still think this is a wild goose chase, coming all the way out here" Connar said, looking out at the choppy ocean. Nikki smelled the sea air, they were somewhere in the northern Norwegian sea. Svart Sted was a small volcanic island only around fifty or sixty acres across, it on the northernmost border of the Norwegian Sea, closer to Greenland and not considered part of the Svalbard Archipelago.

This Island had only one thing, a relic of the War on Terror, where the Coalition nations kept their most dangerous inmates, what governments called a Black Site. It reminded Nikki of the compound from which she escaped, only darker, more brooding. Through their combined influence, Amitra and the other Whisper Council members had placed Charles Roland here, to live out his days under a false identity.

Nikki sensed Connar's growing irritation at having to come back here, beneath it was a trepidation, a dread. Roland had brutally controlled his life, Maya's life and many others for years. All the cameras along their route had been deactivated. The guards here were used to receiving guests with high clearance who didn't like to be identified.

After being led through four different security checkpoints, going deeper into the island, below sea level, they finally arrived at a room called The Box, one of several. A large, floor to ceiling reinforce glass box was the dwelling of a man who didn't look at all like she expected. She had been picturing her own Father… a man called Xavier Fitch.

Charles Roland lived a spartan existence in his "Box", save for his well kept single bed, a sink, a toilet, and a small writing desk on which were laid sketches and a few books. "Hello Amitra" Roland said, sitting up on his bed "Ahh… I see you brought friends… Rupert… Maya and is that Connar?... You're looking well".

Roland was a tall man in his seventies, his long hair salt and pepper around the sides, his beard was whiter, but well groomed, he had a thin but wiry frame "You appear to be Keeping well, Charles" Amitra said. Amitra had mentioned to Nikki that she had built a civil rapport with Roland over the years, visiting him for intelligence on the remnant of Morrigan.

Roland stood up and walked up close to the glass, he focussed now on Nikki "Well, hello there, a new face, that's a rare gift around here, thank you… who might you be?". Roland was Sighted just like they were, and she felt his mind trying to touch hers, a probing attempt, she shrugged it off easily. Nikki glanced at Amitra who gave her a subtle nod. Nikki locked eyes with him and held his gaze "Nicole".

Roland smiled and tapped his temple "You're a mystery" he said cheerfully "I love a mystery, mental stimulation is the key to a longer life…". Roland paused for a moment and studied her, then a grin formed on his face again "Nicole, I suspect that's not your real name… but… all of you have come a very long way, so… to what do I owe the pleasure".

Nikki had to stop herself from involuntarily rolling her eyes… this guy really knew how to lean into his infamy… she sometimes did too. She felt a rise in the rhythms of both Maya and Connar behind her "Nathaniel Gaunt" Maya said "He's still alive". Roland stared at her for a moment, his emotions were hard to read "Well, that's not entirely surprising, I mean, he always was a tenacious one". Amitra stepped closer to the glass "Charles, we don't have a great deal of time, we need to know anything and everything you know about him, how you recruited him, any contacts you shared, anything".

Roland tilted his head slightly upon hearing her serious tone "Something's happened…what?". "Morrigan is resurgent" Rust said "Gaunt is involved that's all we know". "They've been working off of a list" Amitra told him "Sighted Children identified through the charitable foundations of one Joaquim Dalton… but they've been attacking communes…".

Roland put his hands in his pockets and paced his cell. Amitra continued, but Nikki could sense that her patience wasn't finite "He attacked us using something new… as far as we can tell, whoever is doing this has some new kind of procedure, it allows a person to be remote controlled" Amitra turned to Connar "Connar… come here… show him".

Connar had remained at the back of the space since entering the room, leaning on the wall, he picked up the waterproof sack he was carrying and brought it over to the front of Roland's class box. Connar opened the bag and revealed the head of the Echo Drone he had severed in Revda. Roland stared at it and slowly moved forward, reaching into the breast pocket of his jumpsuit and pulling out a pair of glasses. "This is… this is… magnificent…" Roland sounded genuinely in awe "Please, turn it over".

Connar rolled the head over so Roland could observe the device embedded in the back of it's skull "Oh but for the relentless march of progress" Roland breathed, he was utterly captivated. "Gaunt and some others were directly controlling these things" Maya told him "Others appeared to be using rote movements, probably an AI system linked to respond to the pilot's commands, at least that's what we observed". "They even spoke through them" Nikki added.

Roland looked closer, fascinated by the implant "This… this is incredible… I keep up on the science journals, the neural link advancements, but this is a step beyond… direct control of the human brain through a remote neural interlink, suppressing the individual and replacing them with the will of the pilot, or the control system… This… this is truly a work of art!". Connar put the head back into the bag and stared at him "I told you both that's exactly what he'd say" Connar said, his tone was measured, but Nikki sensed his anger was just below the surface "Should've made it a wager".

Nikki stepped up next to Connar and noticed Roland glance from him to her and back, his senses were picking up on their emotions for one another. Nikki leaned on the glass "Do you know anyone who could do this?". "And how do they do it?" Maya added.

Connar glared at Roland for a moment and then started to turn away when Roland spoke up "You're unusually quiet, Connar… I sense you're all really tired, this must be hard on you all". Nikki found him hard to read, but he seemed to at least believe what he was saying, his emotional and bodily rhythms remained steady. "Connar…" Roland said "Look at me…" Connar slowly turned back to face him "I missed you" Roland smiled.

Roland was playing with them now, Nikki knew it, the reason why his Rhythms were steady is because it came naturally to him, she felt her own anger rising and took a breath to suppress it, he might be striking raw nerves for the others, but she was another matter "You're getting off topic and we don't have much time" she told him "Answer the question… do you know of anyone out there who could be capable of this?"

Roland's expression softened and he adjusted his glasses, setting himself to speak "Maya… when you escaped, and when Connar here escaped and you began intercepting my Ravens everywhere, recruiting them into the Whisper order… I have to admit, I started to see the writing on the wall… so when we had Raven operatives jumping ship left and right, Gaunt and I started looking into new methods of control, something… more ...solid than the loyalty tests". "When he says Loyalty tests" Connar interjected "He means that he kidnapped random people and forced us to stab them in the heart with a gun to our heads".

Roland paused for a moment then continued "We were approached by a man, he wasn't Sighted, but he was an absolutely brilliant neurosurgeon and expert in behavioural modification, he and his business partners proposed a new procedure for all the Ravens in the Project, he was developing new cerebral control methods very similar to this... but we're talking 10 years ago…". "Well maybe he's refined the process since then" Maya said "Where can we find him, and his business partners?".

Roland stepped back and looked at Maya and Connar "He offered an enhanced control method for you all, Gaunt was in favour, but… I was afraid it would take away who you were". Connar let out a laugh "You took away who we all were when you kidnapped us from our families and turned us into killers. We're all Sighted here, Roland, and nobody is falling for the whole I've seen the light card, we all know exactly what you are".

For a split second, Roland looked genuinely wounded "No, I do mean it, you're right, we're all Sighted, but I taught you how to master your Psychic traits, your acuity, your power beyond the capabilities of all who came before… you're more than Sighted… you're Ravens… and you're all like Sons and Daughters to me". Now Connar rounded on him and stepped up to the glass "You wanna go down that road again, like our last visit, I had parents, and your people killed them the night you took me, the night you came for all of us".

"Without me, you would never have reached your full potential" Roland said "I couldn't let all that be squandered… it may have been… unpleasant at times, but without it, you'd still be sitting in a tent reading fortunes for a pittance". Connar looked ready to punch the glass but collected himself and stepped away, Maya stepped up in his place "Roland, leave him alone, tell us about this man and his business partners".

Roland, it seemed, was on a roll now and wasn't finished. Maya was doing her best to remain focussed, but Amitra, Rust and Connar were close to boiling point. "I always believed in you all" Roland said "This world is spinning out of control, wars, disease, corruption, we'll never have a better chance, it's time for the Sighted to take our rightful place at the head of this table… those methods were a step back, we were never meant to be controlled".

"Never meant to be controlled?" Connar asked sarcastically "Your hypocrisy is astounding Roland, now just tell us the fucking names so we can go" Connar said. Roland was clearly a man deprived of much of his former authority, influence and now he craved it, he was grandstanding… and Nikki had had enough of his company.

In the next instant, the glass was shattered and Roland's throat was firmly in Nikki's grip, Maya, Amitra and Rust all jumped back. This man liked to talk about their full potential, so she showed him a tiny glimpse of hers, while the rest of her remained in her human form, the hand that extended from her sleeve and wrapped around his throat was a razor sharp claw consisting of a translucent armoured carapace. Amitra and Rust hadn't seen this and both backed away.

"NIKKI, NO! WE NEED THE NAMES" Maya shouted. "Full Potential" Nikki said softly to Roland as she lifted him off his feet "You won't survive mine". Roland's thoughts and Emotions were a mix of dread, terror and awe "My God…" he uttered. "If that means I decide whether you live or die" Nikki pulled him close "You're goddamn right!". Roland coughed and his eyes went wide "You're everything we dreamed of and more…". Nikki felt her own frustration building and uttered a low, tiger-like growl into Roland's face.

Connar stepped into Roland's Box and leaned on the wall, he had a beaming smile on his face "Well Roland, of all the ways I dreamed of watching you die… I have to say this is gonna exceed expectations… go on, do it Nikki".

Amitra chose that moment to shake off her initial shock at seeing Nikki's partial transformation and step in beside her, she had also had enough and tempers were now flaring "NO! Nikki, stop… and you, Connar, Shut the fuck up!" she shouted as she stepped up to Nikki's side.

Amitra glanced at Nikki's hand in its true form and swallowed before turning to Roland "Roland… Charles… If what you say is true and you care about the future of all those with the Sight… you'll help us… tell us this man's name…". Roland had been hanging onto Nikki's wrist but slowly put up his hands.

When Nikki jerked her hand free, he drew in a long breath and coughed. Roland managed to recover himself and then looked around at them all "His name was Armin Saulaimann… like I said, he was once a Doctor, he pioneered several breakthroughs in Neural Interface technologies, the patents made him billions… originally to help patients regain control of limbs after nerve damage, or paralyzed individuals to access technology with their thoughts… but then he realised he could use AI systems and remote access to hijack the brain and gain control… he linked up with Edward Trevelyan and never looked back".

"Trevelyan's an Arms Dealer" Connar said "Used to be MI6 until he realised he could make more profit keeping wars going". "Saulaimann's a cautious man" Roland said "He's the power behind Trevelyan, you find him, he'll lead you to Saulaimann… and possibly Gaunt". "Thank you Roland…" Amitra said "Let's go…". Amitra turned and made her way out of the room, followed by Maya. Connar was still leaning on the wall of Roland's cell, enjoying sensing the man's fear of Nikki.

It was time to go, Nikki turned and took Connar's arm gently. They were just turning away when Roland uttered "I'm sorry". Nikki stopped in her tracks. I'm sorry... The words, in that hushed tone, took her back to a critical moment in her life.

She had heard the stories of Project Morrigan from Connar, Maya and some of the others as they travelled, it was, by all accounts horrific, not dissimilar to her first few months of life in the Lab with the man she knew as her Father, until the day he tried to kill her.

"That true?" Nikki asked without turning to face Roland. Roland remained silent, she could still feel his fear "Is that true that you think of them all as your children… you made them what they are…". Roland shifted slightly "Yes… they're all special to me". Connar was about to round on him again but Nikki grabbed his arm and stopped him, she turned to Roland and smiled "You know… you remind me of my Father… at least I think he was".

Nikki walked back over to Roland in his now shattered glass box. The broken glass crunched beneath her boots. "He kept me in… well in something like this" Nikki said, pointing casually to the glass enclosure around them as she slowly stepped forward "Until one day… he pumped poison in there and tried to kill me… I still remember how it burned my lungs… and I realised I had a choice to make… Do you wanna be an ass? I thought… or do you wanna be a boot?...".

Roland took a step back and Nikki matched it "So I ran… and he came after me… My "Father"... in the end, do you know what I did to him?". Roland's fear was growing and he timidly shook his head, then he ran out of road and his back bumped against the glass wall of his cell.

Nikki got very close and whispered in his ear through gritted teeth "I tore off his face… then I drowned him… in a fucking sewer!…" Nikki could feel his fear was almost palpable. She tapped him on the chest "Some people pray… do you?" she asked. Roland shook his head "No… no I'm a man of Science". "Nah, me neither" Nikki said nonchalantly, then added "But… word of advice… for you, start praying this lead pans out… because I'll be very very annoyed if I have to come back here". Roland slowly turned to look into her eyes and she could see she'd gotten her point across.

"Alright… perfect" Nikki said and slapped him on the shoulder, she then turned to Connar who she saw now had a subtle smirk "Come on Shanty… let's get out of here".

---

Maya sensed Amitra's barely held in fury as they cleared the final checkpoint and walked out onto the empty yard overlooking the ocean, as soon as she was away from the building, she turned "What the fuck is she, Maya?". "No idea" Maya said "They call her…". "The Angel of Vermin, I know" Amitra said, cutting her off "Now the Russian Coven are already calling her the Baba Yaga… but that Maya… that was unnatural". "She's already saved our skin on several occasions, Amitra" Maya said calmly "So I keep her confidence… I asked her and she doesn't know what she is…costs nothing to tell you that".

"Nobody's stating the obvious…" Rust cut in "Braden's sleeping with…well, with whatever she is". "I trust her" Maya said to him firmly "You weren't in Zurich, you weren't in Russia… if it weren't for her, more would be dead, including a council member… she might not be blooded in, but I consider her one of us… and who Connar chooses to be with has got fuck all to do with you!".

"Fine" Amitra said, putting her hands up "I… I just wasn't expecting to see that". "I understand, you've got a lot on your mind, but now we have a name… lets chase it" Maya put her hand on Amitra's shoulder and squeezed.

Amitra managed a small smile and looked back, seeing Nikki and Connar emerge from the security checkpoint, collecting their weapons. "I'll put the names to the Council and all our intelligence apparatus, we should have something by the time we reach the mainland". "So, what did we miss?" Connar asked. "Nothing important" Maya said "Amitra's running the names, let's go".

---

Maya strapped herself into the seat as the helicopter lifted off. She was on the row with Nikki and Connar, Amitra and Rust were opposite, and the atmosphere was awkward, Rust' eyes kept moving between Nikki and Connar. Amitra was the same, staring at Nikki with a mix of awe and apprehension.

Rust's expression was more darkly curious "That thing you did with your hand" he asked her. "What about it?" Nikki replied casually. "Just your hand or… Can you do that all over?". Nikki nodded "Yup…all over". Maya could sense his thoughts and emotions going to those place again as he glanced at Connar then back to Nikki. He was clearly thrown by seeing one of Nikki's transformations for the first time, even if it was just her hand.

"Do you… do it often?" Rust asked cautiously. Nikki, for her part, had relaxed rhythms and wasn't irritated by the questions, she just smirked "Usually on a full moon… that time of the month just brings out the beast…". Connar wasn't prepared for that answer and burst out laughing, Maya joined in. "I think what Rust wants to ask is… can you control whatever that is?" Amitra asked. "Yeah" Nikki said casually "It's who I am". That seemed to satisfy Amitra, until Connar chimed in "But you don't always control it…". Nikki stared at him "Yes I do!".

Connar laughed "Yeah? What about when we were on our way to Sodus Point, remember, in Cleveland where you tried those Mushrooms". Nikki chuckled "Oh yeah… that". Maya couldn't help but laugh, she liked seeing them together, they had only been together for just over a year and it seemed they had never had a dull moment.

---

CAIRO - EGYPT

Amitra put out word as they left the island, Almost every intelligence service had Whisper operatives. Once they hit the mainland, they had a lead on Saulaimann's business partner. Amitra immediately got them on a Black Flight that landed at an isolated airstrip in the Sinai. From there it was almost a three hour journey into Cairo.

Much of the information about Saulaimann checked out, he had indeed pioneered a number of Neural Implant breakthroughs. Dimitri had his SVR assets quietly look into Edward Trevelyan and dug up his meeting schedule, while Victoria Noodin had been able to pull some intelligence files, there was indeed a connection to Saulaimann. They had been witnessed together on a couple of occasions by FBI informants, at the time, however, there was no reason to connect either of them to recent incidents.

Saulaimann appeared to be off grid at the moment, but through Amitra and Dimitri's well placed sources, they had located Edward Trevelyan, he had been busy of late, meeting with Government and Military representatives in a number of countries, including the US, no doubt pitching their new Echo Drones, as well as the new Sighted Operatives they were going to train.

Trevelyan was due to attend a Grand Ball to be held at the Hilton Cairo Grand Nile Tower. He travelled with a lot of security, Dimitri had intelligence that a number of big Military Industrial Complex CEO's would be in attendance. All in all, the place would be swarming with heavy security, so they needed a plan to get him out.

Their goal wasn't to assassinate Trevelyan, not immediately, they needed to get the information that would lead them to Saulaimann, and find where he was keeping the one's he'd taken.

They needed to get him alone so they could extract him and interrogate him. Unlike Roland, who was sighted, interrogating a Non-Sighted person with a limited ability to shield their thoughts would be a simple matter… however one of them needed to make physical contact with him.

The Whisper Coven that covered North Africa and the Middle East operated in a different manner than the others, having fully adopted a nomadic desert lifestyle. Much of their practices were taken from the nomadic Bedouin people across much of the Middle East, and the Tuareg people who could be found across much of the Saharan region.

As a result, there were no large communes and things were less static, Watchtower posts and city safe houses were mainly operated by Whispers from other Covens passing through.

Witchcraft accusations were still a common occurrence in this part of the world, it often led to beatings, ostracization and in some cases, death. Those born Sighted were at more risk as a result, and were often offered a place among the أشباح الصحراء (Desert Ghosts).

Amitra had been in contact with the Desert Ghosts who had sent a potently Sighted woman called Khedduj and two of her men, two brothers named Amalu and Agizul to receive them and give any support. Nikki noticed that Khedduj was not veiled but the two brothers wore face coverings. Maya had explained that they were Desert Ghosts, but they came from a Tuareg background, a Matrilineal culture in which the men wore the veils and the women did not, family lines were also traced through women rather than the men.

Khedduj was a striking woman with well defined features and large, deep hazel eyes. She wore a sleeveless leather waistcoat and her arms were decorated with ritualistic scarification. However, she also bore another distinct mark, an unmistakable rope burn around her neck… at some point in this woman's life, she'd survived a lynching. She had a fierceness in her look and power in her bearing.

"Mrhbaan" she said as she met them on the edge of the city and led them into the garage in Shrubra neighbourhood of Cairo "You are here for this man, Trevelyan?" Khedduj asked "Will you kill him?". "We need him to lead us to where the others were taken" Connar told her "After that, he's fair game".

Khedduj smiled and beckoned "Come". She reached down to the shell of a car that looked like it was being restored and pulled it up. The car came up surprisingly easily and for a moment, Nikki thought she was unusually strong, like herself, but then she heard the pistons… the car was just a cover… instead of a pit, there was a staircase, leading underground beneath the garage.

Khedduj led them down and into a modern looking armoury, where she opened a locker and pulled out a large roll of paper, laying out the blueprint of the Hilton Nile Tower across a stainless steel table "Edward Trevelyan is just one of the Arms Dealers attending tomorrow night's event, security will be too tight for any kind of attack, he's staying in the top floor penthouse suite" She pointed to the top floor.

Nikki watched and listened as they went through a few options, the hotel was right on the river, and there were private boats, but security for the event was incredibly tight.

"We need to isolate him, in such a way that his security won't suspect anything" Connar said, then added "Then we quietly eliminate his team while we smuggle him out so nobody raises the alarm. Do you know his itinerary while he's here?". Khedduj shrugged "We know he's due to check out the following evening, so he likely has some private meetings scheduled for the day after".

"So, if we do this right, we will buy ourselves a few hours to find Saulaimann and get back our people" Nikki said, then stepped up to the table "If you can get me into that event… I can get him alone… and I can get him out of the hotel… that frees up the four of you to take care of his security team".

For a long moment, they all stared at her "What?" she asked. "You said our people, Nikki" Connar said in a softer voice. "Yeah… well, I'm invested" she shrugged. "I can get you inside" Khedduj said "But how will you get him out?". Nikki grinned "Leave that to me… but I will be needing a dress".

Unexpectedly, Khedduj went to another locker and pulled out an entire rack of high end clothes "Just pick one that fits, but you will be wanded, so you likely won't be able to get a weapon inside". At this, Connar and Maya began to smile, they clearly liked this plan "I wouldn't worry Khedduj… you haven't seen Nikki when she's angry, she doesn't need a weapon" Connar grinned.

---

HILTON GRAND NILE TOWER - EXCLUSIVE EVENT

After spending the day ironing out the plan, it had come time for them to put it into action. Everything was prepared, everyone knew what to do. For Nikki, It felt like Deja-Vu. Concerned that, because the Echo Drones had seen her face before she took her true form, she opted for a change of appearance. Nikki took it upon herself to dye her hair black once again.

Since leaving Los Angeles she hadn't given a great deal of concern to her appearance, her rugged look made her less noticeable. Yet here she was again, sneaking into a hotel with the aim of getting a man alone in a room.

The Hotel's function room was something to behold, decorated with crystal ornaments, strobing wall lights and music. She drew a few looks from the attendees on her way in. Now it was a question of finding her mark. Nikki knew she had crossed a threshold here, this was the first time she had gone this far out of her way to help anyone, here she was, thousands of miles from the city she called home, trying to save people she didn't know… the thought occurred to her I've come so far, what happens next?

Maya and Connar were also in the hotel, but they were elsewhere, posing as guests, their task was to identify and eliminate Trevelyan's security team. The brothers, Amalu and Agizul were in charge of securing Trevelyan's private boat. He had arrived in style down the river, the boat would be their way out.

As for Khedduj, she had disguised herself as a hotel staff member to gain access to the event, and then, once inside, she had slipped into a bathroom and come out in a beautiful dress herself, she was going to be Nikki's support, just in case anything went wrong.

There were socialites here from all over the world, including American politicians. Nikki found herself wondering if any of them knew about the compound where she was born, or the killers that came after her when she escaped, if any of them were behind the decision to gas her in her cage.

"You seem nervous" Khedduj said as she gracefully came to her side and smiling at a passing man in a suit as she linked arms with Nikki. "I did something like this once before… it ended… badly". "Never a failure, always a lesson" Khedduj said "You have returned with wisdom…". Nikki had spent time with Khedduj over the past day, she was mysterious and captivating. She appeared to be around thirty or forty, but exuded a wisdom well beyond her years. Like all the other Whispers she had met, Khedduj had sensed her uniqueness and became very interested in her too.

Khedduj had an intensity about her that radiated, not just on the psychic level but on a more personal level "You know, you're not like the other Whispers I've met while I've been travelling" Nikki said. Khedduj smiled "You have travelled with the Whispers of the New World, where Governments, and things like Project Morrigan are the threat… In this part of the world, one can still be denounced as a Witch… especially the Sighted".

"That's how the Whispers started isn't it?" Nikki asked. "Those cast out, we welcome" Khedduj began "Those that are broken, we heal… and those that die… we avenge… our way is the old way…". "They came for me because I'm different" Nikki told her "They killed my baby and I can't avenge him… they think I'm dead too, if I try, they'll hunt me for the rest of my life".

Khedduj gently ushered Nikki towards the bar and ordered two drinks, then leaned in close "I sensed your pain, and your strength the moment I met you Nikki…" Khedduj said quietly, then gently lifted her chin, showing the rope scar around her neck "We all have loved one's we will see again in paradise, until then, they will watch over us… we live for them, so we must live a good life… all is as Allah wills it".

After a few minutes Nikki spotted Trevelyan with several dignitaries "There he is". "I'll check in with the others" Khedduj said as she took her glass and stood up, then she took Nikki's hand for a moment and smiled "You've got this…".

Trevelyan was an American in his fifties, Tall, in decent enough shape, with salt and pepper hair and a sharp suit. Nikki sized him up, up to a certain point, this would be just like Los Angeles, she needed to get him alone. She watched him as he spoke to a number of people, one man she recognised as Alexander De Vos, the CEO of Ignis Systems, a top arms manufacturer. She didn't pay attention to such things normally, but her perfect recall led her to recognise him from an article in the New York Times.

After a few minutes, Trevelyan excused himself and made his way over to the bar. Nikki turned on her stool and nursed her drink, puffed his cheeks and exhaled… that's my cue... Nikki thought. "You look like you need something strong" Nikki said. Trevelyan nodded "You can say that again…". "These things can be… a lot" Nikki said confidently and smiled "why don't you let me get that for you".

Nikki held up two fingers to the bartender, at this point Trevelyan paid attention to her… she spotted him glance down, admiring her. "Thank you Miss..?" Trevelyan began. Nikki gave him the name of one of many false identities she'd accumulated "Grey… Danica Gray".

"Are you here with anyone Ms Grey, representing anyone?" Trevelyan asked "No" Nikki said with a heavy sigh "This was supposed to be my tenth wedding anniversary, but three weeks ago I caught him with my Pilates instructor…" Nikki raised her glass "But I'll be damned if I was gonna waste my tickets… I'm here with a friend, but she's gone off with some guy".

"Sorry to hear that" Trevelyan said and leaned on the bar "You sound American, where are you from?". "Oh, don't let my accent fool you, I'm foreign…" Nikki said with a smile and took a drink. "Foreign? Ok, where are you really from Miss Gray". Nikki leaned in close "Danica please… and I tell you what… I'll give you three guesses, if you get it right, you get to buy me another drink". Trevelyan laughed and shuffled forward, brushing her arm… that's good Nikki thought now I've got you…

---

Connar found a corner and knelt down as soon as they got off the elevator, they were dressed casually like regular guests. He let the world fall away and let himself view the world in aspect. Trevelyan's penthouse was at the far end of the hall, directly across from his room was a room where his bodyguards were staying, of which there were six. All former military.

Connar Remote Viewed inside the room, four guards were relaxing, watching TV, two were in the corridor, one guarding the penthouse, and the other was keeping him company.

Maya viewed them too "We need to wait until Nikki gets him back in that room, if he gets back and they're not here, he'll know something's wrong". "When he leaves the banquet hall, he'll have another one with him" Connar said. Maya moved around the corner and found the service closet, taking out a lockpick, she swiftly opened the door and ushered him inside "When he brings Nikki back up here, he won't want to be disturbed, they'll back off, Khedduj will come up for extra backup".

The both knelt and assembled their sidearms, attaching suppressors. Connar took a breath and centred himself for a few minutes, when he opened his eyes, Maya was grinning "What?". "Nothing… you seem calmer, more focussed than before… Nikki's changed you". "This last year with Nikki… I dunno Maya, it's been the most peaceful year of my life". Maya laughed "Living underground, robbing Drug Dealers and taking vacations… that's your idea of peaceful?". Connar saw the irony "Hay. compared to the shit we've been through, it's easy".

Maya nodded and smirked, sitting down opposite him on the floor, it was now a waiting game until Nikki got Trevelyan up here. Maya stretched and tied back her hair "Mind if I ask you a personal question?".

Connar smirked "Maya you know you can ask me anything". "You and Nikki… when she changes like that… do you?…". Now Connar laughed "I knew that question was coming… but as you know I'm a gentleman". Maya laughed and slapped him on the chest "You? A Gentleman? That'll be the day you scrappy little bollocks… come on, really, when you saw her do that for the first time, were you scared?".

Connar leaned back and took a deep breath "She'd had me down in Terminus while I healed for about five weeks. We weren't an item yet, but we were getting closer… the longer I was around her, the more I saw… at night when we slept… separately at the time… I picked up on her dreams, I saw it then… the longer I was with her the more I wanted to stay… but I knew I had to finish the job". Maya shuffled around next to him "So you went to the lockup?".

"Yeah" Connar said "And Dalton's men were waiting… I still wasn't fully healed and I took another couple of rounds. They shot Nikki to pieces right in front of me and then they got me pinned down… then she came back… she tore through them like they were paper men, then she looked at me… I knew right then I wasn't ever leaving her".

Maya smiled and threw her arm around him "I'm happy for you" she said "So when's the wedding?". They both Laughed "Neither of us are the marrying type". "When this is over, I can't wait to see you introduce her to the rest of the pack… I have a feeling Kazia is gonna really hit it off with her!".

"My cousin Tommy, he liked her, not sure if she liked him though" Connar told her. Maya snorted "Yeah, I'm not surprised, Tommy can be a little… loud". "What about you, Maya" Connar asked "Anyone on the horizon?". "No, not yet" Maya sighed regretfully. Connar nudged her "Tell you what, when this shit is over with, we'll buy you a submarine, so you can go down to the bottom or the ocean and find yourself a merman, a guy that's like Nikki…trust me, Maya, you don't know what you're missing".

Maya started to laugh and playfully shoved him with her shoulder "It's really that good huh?". "Like you wouldn't believe…" Connar beamed. Maya shook her head "You know she's not really a mermaid right?". Connar seemed to take this on board "Yeah, well, I don't care what else she is as long as she's happy, she's been through a lot of shit, just like us, and just like us, she deserves peace in her life".

"I feel that" Maya said "Once this is all over, we'll be able to put everything behind us, draw a line under it and move on". Connar smiled "And start looking for a merman for you!". Maya laughed and shoved him again "Shut up!".

They stayed making small talk and loose plans for what to do afterwards for roughly an hour, only stopping to listen to whoever got off the elevator. Eventually, they both sensed Nikki's distinct presence. She got off the elevator with Trevelyan, both of them laughing and joking, she was leaning on him, arm in arm. Connar opened the closet door just enough to see them go around the corner.

Nikki sensed he was there and sent him a smooth, warm memory. The night she took him out to one of her spots on New York's North Brother Island, an uninhabited island in the East River, on which Nikki maintained one of her many hideouts. She had watched the passing ships and made love on the beach until the sun came up… then almost been arrested by the river police when they spotted Nikki's small boat near the island, a fun time. Nikki sent him the Memory to let him know everything was ok and it was time to move.

Connar opened the door and Maya slipped out behind him. They needed to play this naturally, and everyone knew their role. They snuck up to the corner and waited while Trevelyan made it clear to the two guards on duty that he wasn't to be disturbed. They entered the room and Nikki would now have to play for time until they made their move.

Khedduj emerged from the elevator and Maya handed her a pistol. All three of them were using suppressed Ruger Mk4's with subsonic rounds.

"Ready?" Maya whispered. Connar shifted back from the wall and positioned himself between them, wrapping his arms around both their waists and they all began to laugh as they made their way around the corner and down the hall towards the room. Khedduj leaned her head on his shoulder and snuggled close as they walked, giggling and brushing up against him, he did the same, to the body guards, they appeared like a lucky guy and two ladies coming in from a heavy night of partying.

"Evening Fellas" Connar said as he approached, right on cue, Maya and Khedduj drew and fired. Both bodyguards were instantly dead where they stood. Connar caught one before he fell, while Maya caught the other, Khedduj stepped to the right and positioned herself by the door to the bodyguard's room. Maya took a door card from one of the bodies and threw it to Connar.

All three of them stacked up to the door and got ready. "There are four, take them out quickly" Maya whispered, then nodded to Connar. Connar swiped the card and let it drop from his hands as he shoved the door open. Two of the Bodyguards were sitting at the table at the far end, one was on a bed watching TV, another was coming out of the bathroom. Connar swept in right, clearing the room, taking out the two guards by the window, Maya put two shots into the man on the bed.

The third was a big man, he was coming out of the bathroom and drew his pistol, he never got a shot off before Khedduj swept in and took him out with a shot to the temple. Total time elapsed 2.5 seconds. Connar dragged the two bodies into the room, then he and Maya made their way back to the cleaning closet and used the products they found there to sweep up the blood on the marble floor and on the wall. They even put out a Wet Floor Sign to make it look legit.

Once in the room, they collected shell casings, cleared the area of physical evidence, then cloned and disabled the guard's cell phones before piling the bodies into the bathroom. Maya used her tools to lock the door. "Ok, now it's on Nikki" Connar said.

---

Trevelyan was behaving like a perfect gentleman for his part, he had a southern accent and didn't show off his wealth too overtly, apart from the bodyguards and the lavish penthouse suite. Nikki walked into the room and heard him close the door behind her "Ohh, I bet so drained from those events, it's like everyone wants a piece of you" he said "Would you like another drink".

"I'll take a Vodka, straight up" Nikki said, glancing around as she made her way over to the window. "Eleven countries in the past three weeks" Trevelyan said. Nikki made a show of admiring the view of Cairo but subtly watched him in the reflection, Robbie had taught her never to trust someone who appeared too gentlemanly, and she already knew what he was capable of. "You get around" Nikki said "Is there nobody in your life?".

Trevelyan came over and handed her a glass, then tapped it with his own "Well, right at this moment, I'm with you". "A man who lives in the moment, I like it" Nikki said while she smelled the liquid in the glass. She didn't detect any chemicals or oddities and drank it down. It was at this point Trevelyan moved in and pulled her close "Your Husband was a fool, how could anyone walk out on someone like you?". "His loss… my gain" Nikki said and leaned in for a soft, romantic kiss.

As she kissed him, she connected with him, her senses probing his, nothing like the connection she shared with Connar, but enough to see glimpses of his memories. People on tables, screams, the sound of a surgical drill, Echo Drones standing in formation, a tall, Dark Skinned man with a shaved head and an expensive suit. The man called Gaunt overseeing them. The Jungle. Almost there Nikki thought… just a little more…

There was a loud thud outside the room and Trevelyan pulled back looking at the door, Nikki pulled him back into their passionate embrace and began pushing him backwards. He began to relax and give himself to her, they moved up against the wall and Nikki felt his hands sliding down her breasts and found the zipper on the side of her dress.

Nikki felt the dress slip onto the floor as he fully gave himself to her and the images flowed again… The Jungle, A Sky Blue Flag with a yellow star and a diagonal red stripe, The View from a Plane, An Airstrip, a Compound, A Quarry of some kind no… a Mine… deep in the Jungle, A large underground facility, a Laboratory, People in Cages, CHILDREN IN CAGES, People being held down on surgical tables, Doctors performing surgeries… Devices being implanted, The Screams… The Screams… THE SCREAMS!

Nikki pulled back with a gasp… Trevelyan looked at her, breathless "What's Wrong?"...

---

She was a mysterious and extraordinarily passionate woman, Edward Trevelyan had been with a number of women while on his travels, it was a privilege of the wealthy and powerful, power attracts… but this woman, she pulled him in like nothing he had ever encountered, he stole a glance down at her incredible body as her dress slipped down to the floor. Something about her made him give himself to her entirely, he was just about to unbuckle his pants when she suddenly pulled back, panting and looked at him with a strange expression "What's wrong?" he asked.

She took a moment to collect herself and fixed him with a strange stare "The Congo… that's where you and Saulaimann took them…" she said matter of factly. "What? Excuse me?" Trevelyan barely had enough time to think before she had him by the throat with one hand and he felt his feet lift off the ground "No… I don't think I will excuse you".

"Who… Are…Y" Trevelyan croaked and squirmed in her vice-like grip, he grabbed her wrist and attempted to pull away but her grip was unnaturally strong. To his horror, then he saw the skin on her hand and arm begin to shift and change, becoming translucent and taking on a hard carapace-like appearance, with chitinous overlapping plates. The Change spread down her arm and to the rest of her body.

Her face was the last to change, with her features shifting, becoming more pronounced, her hair solidified into a collection of tendrils and her eyes became teal blue slits that blinked with a secondary set of lids. Her last words before everything went black were "I told you I was fuckin' foreign".

---

Kjedduj had seen many things in her life, beautiful things, wondrous things, and terrible things… The sight that greeted her when that penthouse door opened was like nothing she ever expected. Trevelyan was laying on the floor, completely unconscious, and Nikki… she was… she was… "What are you?" Khedduj asked.

Nikki turned to her and blinked slowly, like a cat. Her appearance was darkly elegant, hyper attractive, yet unnatural, graceful, and terrifyingly powerful. "It's ok Khedduj" Connar said as he attached a harness around Trevelyan's limp form "Ever seen a Mermaid in the desert? There's a special David Attenborough show about them…". Nikki made a sharp growl, like a leopard, and swiped, slapping him up the back of the head. "Ahhhaw" Connar yelped "Everyone's a critic…".

Nikki rolled her bright reptilian eyes and made her way over to the table where she threw Trevelyan's laptop and phone into his briefcase and picked it up. "Connar, will you put your insane, leaking brain back in its spongebag and focus on the task in hand?" Maya said as she went into her backpack and knelt by the window. Connar finished securing Trevelyan into a harness and attached a cable "Ready".

Maya attached a small suction device onto the floor to ceiling glass and pumped it, then she cut around in a large circle and pulled. The glass came away and Maya laid it on the floor. "Ok, let's get this fucker down to the boat".

In 30 seconds they had attached cables and repelled down the side of the building. Trevelyan was attached to Connar while Nikki stayed on overwatch. Khedduj stopped half way and shone a green laser dot down to the boat. After a few moments a green laser dot was the reply, the brothers had taken out the guards on his boat and the coast was clear.

When they reached the ground they were in a secluded area not far from the street, blocked only by a large hedge. Up in the room, Nikki detached the cables and they fell to the ground. Khedduj felt confused "Wait… how is she going to get out?". Her question was answered in the next few seconds when Nikki impacted the ground on one knee several feet away, smashing the concrete beneath her.

In one hand she was holding her dress and Trevelyan's briefcase, in the other, a bottle of Vodka. She slowly stood up and shrugged.

The street was quiet and thankfully, they were wearing signal jammers, they moved from cover to cover until they made a break for it across the street and down to the dock where the two brothers stared wide-eyed at Nikki's changed appearance. Khedduj didn't know what to say to them and decided to just parrot what Connar said "He said she's a mermaid… Come on, Move!".

They started the boat and pulled off of the dock, Nikki swiped at the rope with her razor sharp claws and they made their way up the Nile. Once they were safely away, Nikki went down below. When she emerged, she looked normal again, only the dye had come out of her hair and it was once again blonde "Saulaimann, he's in the DRC" Nikki said.

"You're sure" Maya asked. "I saw it, when I got close to him…" Nikki said, then her expression changed "He has them in some underground place, like a converted mine… he's keeping them in cages and… He's… he's fucking drilling into their heads to make those things". "I'll see if I can back trace his phone or his laptop" Khedduj said and went into his briefcase.

"We need to hurry" Nikki said "The one's he took may not have much time".

---

SINAI DESERT - FIVE HOURS LATER

Amitra stood on the dusty landing strip with Rust, Dimitri and a number of Raven Operatives who survived Day-Zero and had volunteered to be their protection. As the dust covered desert jeep appeared in the distance, Amitra took a breath, this was it.

The Jeep stopped near the plane and Amitra realised she'd been holding her breath, she was relieved to see they were all ok. Maya and Nikki got out, followed by Khedduj and Connar. Connar and Maya looked suited up and ready to go and Connar leading a man in a suit with a black bag over his head.

Connar kicked him in the back of his knee and he fell to the ground where Connar pulled him up and took the bag off his head, revealing Edward Trevelyan. "Amitra Jha" Trevelyan said, then looked around "Dimitri Antonova… Maya Durand… Connar Braden… and who are these, the Ravens… Those who escaped from Project Morrigan?".

"Right on all counts, Mr Trevelyan, you're well travelled and well informed" Amitra said. Trevelyan grinned "I try to know all the major players, the nature of my job…you understand". Amitra stepped forward "The nature of my job is protecting my own from those who would do them harm…".

"Gaunt only had scant information on your group… what is it you call yourselves? Whispers?... I have to say, we didn't know the extent of it until we caught a few of the Ravens and made them… more cooperative".

Several of the gathered Raven operators jumped forward, one of them began screaming at the older man in a distinctive northern English accent "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THEM!". Nikki stepped in and held him back. "Oh… yeah… and this thing…" Trevelyan said smugly. Then looked back up at Amitra "You have no idea what she is? Do you?...". "Of course we do" Dimitri said, stepping up close to him… "She is the Angel…".

"Do we have a location?" Amitra asked without taking her eyes off Trevelyan. Maya stepped up "Saulaimann's facility is a converted mine in the Kobobo Massif… hard to reach on foot, they've installed an airstrip but it's too well defended, airdrop is our best option". "So, we won't be needing this piece of shit anymore" Nikki said.

Khedduj drew her pistol and put it to Trevelyan's temple, Connar simultaneously grabbed a clump of his hair and held his head up to face Amitra. Trevelyan looked up at her with a defiant scowl "You can't stop the future, you can't stop what's coming… Vita Nova". "Yeah, well, whatever it is… you won't be around to see it" Nikki said.

CRACK!

The gunshot rang out over the dunes and Trevelyan's body settled in the dirt. "This will be a hard fight, we're coming with you" James said "You'll need backup" all five of the Raven operators with him stepped closer. "Always welcome" Maya replied "Let's go and get our people back".

Rust picked up his gear "Ma'am, I'm not sitting this one out either". "Go, find our people" Amitra said, doing her best to force down the lump in her throat. There was a time she would have led them into this fire, but those days were behind her "Dimitri and I will make sure you have additional support when you get there".

Maya took Amitra's hands "We'll find Raya, we'll bring them all back". There were no more words. Amitra knew, deep down that there were no promises in a war, and nobody was under any illusion as to the odds. Amitra watched as Maya, Nikki, Connar, Rust, Khedduj and the five other survivors of Project Morrigan loaded up their gear and began to move towards the AC295 Transport Plane at the other end of the airstrip. "Godspeed" Amitra uttered.

---

The Pilot that turned up was none other than Frank "The Bomber" Harris Maya's old friend in his distinctive USAF Leather Jacket and Cowboy Hat. While he wasn't a Whisper, and like the vast majority of the population, had no idea the order existed, he was familiar with a number of their members. Maya had introduced him to Amitra, who had introduced him to Dimitri, who had introduced him to Connar. He would regularly get work from one of them.

He had flown them up to 35,000 feet over the region and they had all performed what Nikki learned was called a HALO Jump. Given the fact she lacked any form of training, Maya and Connar had spent time on the plane showing her how to operate the parachute, and when to deploy it. The jump itself was beyond exciting, the speed, the sensation, the overwhelming rush was almost beyond description.

They landed six miles from the facility and quietly moved in on foot as the sun went down. Nikki had gotten to know all of the other Raven Operatives who had been with Maya and Connar in Project Morrigan during the flight.

James Becker was slightly older than them, and had been taken from his home in Yorkshire. Jack Quale was the youngest, having been freed on Day Zero, he was originally from Canada, and had been taken while on vacation in France, he still had the accent. Ewa Morozov, like Maya was the daughter of diplomatic staff, her mother was Russian and her father was Estonian, she was taken from a hotel room in Spain at the age of seven. Wesley Baptiste was slightly older than the others when he was taken, his parents were "Windrush" immigrants to the UK and he grew up in East London. His mother was potently Sighted and he had participated in a study in his teens, he had been taken shortly thereafter. Huyen Xuan's mother was Vietnamese and her father was Chinese, they had settled in Edinborough when she was taken by Project Morrigan.

As they moved through the dense jungle, Nikki felt for the first time in her life, that she was part of something… something good, something worthy. They knew they were close when Nikki heard six sets of approaching footsteps, her senses were much keener than any of theirs and she had to remember, Echo Drones were Psychic Blank, meaning that the Sighted could not sense them.

Nikki signalled to Connar and they all went into cover. Nikki was impressed by how they all melted into the foliage. Nikki was closest and watched a Patrol of Echo Drones moving along a game trail a hundred feet ahead.

"It's clear" she Whispered and they all emerged and made their way to the edge of the tree line. Nikki didn't need binoculars, she saw it first, and soaked up the layout of the facility. The Airstrip was a mile away to the south, across a road which had been cleared through the jungle. There was a large compound lit by floodlights.

The compound backed into a hillside on the far end and they could see a tunnel heading into the rock. "There have to be auxiliary exits" Maya whispered "We can't assault that tunnel".

Nikki recalled the images she gleaned from Trevelyan "Somewhere in there is a room, they have these headsets that look like those helmets you wear… from there they can control the Echo Drones". "A CIC" Connar said "We need to make taking that room a priority, if we do, maybe we can shut down the Drones".

Wesley shifted along the ridge line "There's something else, higher up the hillside, see… looks like an observation deck". "Gotta be where the Bossman entertains his buyers" Ewa hissed "If we can get across there, I wager there's an emergency exit point we can make use of…".

"Ok, divide and conquer" Maya said "We'll quarter and search by two's…Nikki, Connar… You find where they're holding our people and get them out, quietly if you can… James, Jack, locate the Echo Drone CIC… shut it down… Wesley, Huyen, you have heavy weapons, when it's time to go loud, you provide a distraction out here… Rust and I will try to locate Saulaimann while Khadduj and Ewa, you go over to the hanger and secure our exit, Wesley and Huyen will provide backup if you need it".

"Wait, what about Gaunt?" James said "That fucker ain't walking away from this, not after what he did to us!". "One thing at a time" Connar told him "We maintain the element of surprise as long as we can, but if anyone encounters Gaunt… just get rid of him".

They avoided more Drone Patrols as they moved closer. This time they were more ready for the heavily armoured assailants, each one of them had brought an armour piercing loadout, or followed Connar's approach, Automatic Shotguns with Frag 12 explosive rounds. There weren't just Drones, there were normal human mercenaries too. APEX Global Contractors manning the compound. Nikki took down three of them as they approached the maintenance access.

Once they got close, Connar picked the lock and let them inside. What lay beyond was a long tunnel, only large enough for two people to walk side by side. Every few hundred metres was a maintenance ladder leading up or down. In their two's, they split off and went about their tasks.

---

Armin Saulaimann sipped his fifty year old Whiskey and looked out over the training floor, they had just brought in a fresh batch. The Echo Drones could be created quickly, but Shades would require training, behaviour modification and finally the surgery to make them compliant.

He heard the elevator doors open below, and a set of footsteps came up the small flight of stairs to his office in the observation deck. Paul Wiseman struggled free from Gaunt's grip just as they drew near his desk, but the Echo Drone escorting them easily grabbed him and pushed the 13 year old up to the front.

"You're a spirited one, Mr Wiseman" Saulaimann said "And you've proven very difficult to catch, both in New York and in France…". The boy struggled in the Drone's grip "Fuck you!" he spat. Gaunt quickly extended a shock baton and jabbed it into the boy's abdomen.

He screamed and doubled over. "Now, let's try the more civil approach, shall we?" Saulaimann asked as he picked up his phone and cast a video to the large screen on the wall. "Watch carefully" he told the boy.

Gaunt grabbed the boy and directed his attention to the screen. The video was the recorded POV of an Echo Drone. The first part of the video showed a view from the air, from a helicopter approaching a rooftop.

Like a first person game, the Drone raised its rifle, but someone on the roof, a blonde woman in a plain white t-shirt raised an impossibly large gun and then the feed cut. This played out over the next few minutes until Saulaimann stopped the image "Who is she… we know you've had contact with her".

The boy glared at him but did not speak. Gaunt extended the shock baton again "You want another one? Answer the man!". Paul Wiseman then did something unexpected, he lunged for Gaunt's sidearm. Gaunt was easily able to stop him, and smacked him on the head with the pommel of his baton, knocking him back.

"I ain't no snitch!" Wiseman said. "Good boy" Saulaimann said "I like this one… But Paul, you have to understand, we really need to know about your friend, she's dangerous, did she tell you where she came from?". "She'll come for you, motherfucker, both of you! You wanna know who she is… she's the Angel of the Streets!". "What the fuck does that mean?" Gaunt seethed in his harsh London accent. "It means there's nowhere you can hide from her" The boy said "You're all dead!".

Saulaimann grinned, the boy did indeed have a lot of spirit "Well, if you're not willing to tell me now, then perhaps after a few alterations you'll be more amenable". Saulaimann looked up at the Drone "Take this one back to the holding area".

The Drone grabbed Wiseman and marched him back down the stairs. "Pleasant kid" Saulaimann chuckled. "Yeah, the little fucker reminds me of someone else" Gaunt hissed. "Don't worry, you'll get your chance against Braden when we deploy more of the Shades to hunt him down there won't be anywhere he can hide… my concern is that woman".

"That's not no woman" Gaunt said, sitting down "Whatever she is, that's unnatural…". "Could it be that the Whisper group you informed us about are into some kind of genetic manipulation?". "Not as far as I'm aware… I only encountered them when I was chasing Braden and Maya Durand… before she called herself Le Fauconnière".

Saulaimann thought for a moment "You mentioned Braden has siblings, if they are part of this group, then perhaps we should deploy a team of Drones to round them up, they might be able to tell us how far these Whispers extend".

Gaunt snorted "Believe me, that was my first thought, but they're Travellers… nomadic, hard to pin down at the best of times, and they all live under false identities, slippery bastards. I followed reports of Braden's mercenary activity in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Russia, and the UK… I was always a week, a day behind the bastard".

Saulaimann felt he had to make his feelings on this matter known now, otherwise he was going to face problems with Gaunt somewhere down the line "It's clear you hold a grudge, but I need you clear and focussed, we both saw they have a new weapon of some kind, whatever it is… I want it too". Gaunt wandered over to the window and thought about it for a moment "I'll look into it, whoever she is, there have to be reports on her, no way someone like her just pops up out of nowhere".

"Where are we on recruitment?" Saulaimann asked, pouring Gaunt a small glass of Whiskey. "We're operating at full capacity on Drone conversion with a steady supply coming in, as for the Sighted one's for Shade recruitment, we're almost at full strength, the guys I hired to train them are working them hard, we're almost ready for modification on the first batch".

"Good, we're up and running" Saulaimann got up and joined him by the window, watching as another cage full of sighted adolescents was brought down through the compound, escorted by Echo Drones "I'll contact our friends in the US, this is going to be a most profitable venture Mr Gaunt".

"Yes Sir" Gaunt Said. His phone buzzed with a text "Looks like our Shades in the Midwestern Region have located another Commune, I'd better go brief the Drone Drivers". "On American Soil, they'll likely be heavily armed, like in Russia" Saulaimann mused "What tactics will you be using?".

"We know they like their escape tunnels" Gaunt said "I'm going to engage the defenses from a distance while I keep a separate force on standby, with a Reaper Drone on overwatch looking for heat signatures, we should be able to round them up as they exit the tunnel". "Hounds to the Hunters" Saulaimann said "I like it".

---

Unlike the one's patrolling outside, or out on capture missions, the Echo Drones inside the facility were not wearing helmets and were not very heavily armoured, though they all knew they needed to be careful, taking down a Echo Drone might cause the others that were networked to it to go on alert.

Nikki and Connar were able to locate the holding area easily, the psychic signature of so many Sighted people in one place was like a giant beacon, however, they were unprepared for just how many there were, as they made their way out across the upper gantry, they were able to see over three hundred captives, divided by age groups from infants to adolescents.

There were five per cage. "Fuck" Nikki said "I hope Maya finds Saulaimann before I do". "He's the least of our worries right now" Connar said "We won't get many out before those Drones take notice, we can't have a firefight down there". Echo Drones patrolled up and down each aisle of cages.

Nikki was still getting used to having an earpiece and a radio, she knew that it wouldn't last long if she had to take her true form, but she made use of it now, opening the channel "Jack, James… it's Nikki, the kids are being guarded by those Drone things, we need you guys to take out that Control Room so we can get to the captives, how close are you". The reply came "Jack here… almost there".

Nikki looked at Connar, his eyes were scanning across the space "You see Paul, Matilda or Raya?". "Not from here" Nikki said "Come on, let's get down there, we need to be ready when they take out the control room".

---

This wasn't a commune, probably just one of their safe houses, a converted warehouse on the outskirts of Tijuana. As a result, only one operator was needed for this one, but Sam Ronick wanted to wrap this up quickly as Gaunt almost ready to go up against a larger Whisper Commune on US Soil "Yeah, come to papa you fucking little rats" he snorted as he directed his drone and the others with which it was networked to round up those in the warehouse.

There was incoming fire from a Whisper Fighter on the second floor which hit Ronick's Drone, but the armour was more than enough, he turned the Echo Drone and sprayed the catwalk with automatic fire. Now able to see that the Whisper Fighter was wearing an ECM Helmet, black, hooded with eight small red ocular sensors "Oh, one of Roland's Ravens… I like a fucking challenge, come on baby!".

Ronick manoeuvred the Drone to a better firing position, aimed at the Raven Operator and fired. The Whisper ducked and rolled into a second floor room. Ronick opened fire on the room and then… "HAY.. WHAT THE FUCK!".

The Echo Drone's feed went out… The Drone wasn't dead, he'd have had a vital sign alert, the entire visual went out "Hay… my feed is down… come on fellas" Ronick shouted to the tech guys in the CIC "I have Drones in the field, come on, Gaunt's gonna come down here and kick all our asses".

No response, technical glitches happened, but this was bad, and now he was pissed "Hay, can you guys fucking hear me!" Ronick shouted and lifted his headset. The sight that greeted him, he was not prepared for. Staring straight at him was a black, full face helmet with eight red sensors. A Raven Operative… no, two of them… here!

A fist came hard into his face, Ronick tasted blood and felt something hard at the back of his mouth, he only registered it was his teeth before a silenced pistol was raised to his face "WAIT.. NO!"...

POP!

---

"WAIT … NO!". James pulled the trigger and the ginger haired man in the chair slumped to the floor, dead. James turned and nodded to Jack who got on the Comm back to Nikki "The Control Room is ours, give me a few minutes to move those drones out of the area".

Jack felt a small bite of frustration "You could've asked him how this works before you shot him James". "You'll figure it out, Jack… you're the Hacker". Now Jack was angry "That generally does not involve jacking into the brains of real people asshole!... move out of the way, let me get in there".

Jack went to one of the other Control suites that wasn't all covered in brains and pulled down the headset. When he did, he found an option menu, he knew these Echo Drones could be controlled from here, he just needed to find a way to send a command through the AI interface to the ones in the holding area.

"Any time guys" Nikki's voice came over his channel. "Hold on" Jack replied "If I can get into the system I can move those Drones out of your path". "Be quick about it, Jack" Maya's voice came in. Jack took a breath to centre himself "Doing what I can guys… this isn't a clock radio I'm working with here!".

---

Paul's head impacted the side of the cage after the Drone dragged him back down here and hurled him inside. His anger stirred to an uncontrollable level, they had taken Matilda, he knew she didn't have long. He got up and ran back at the Drone, tackling it in the waist.

The thing did not budge, he dug his heels in and pushed, but the dead eyed zombie thing just picked him up and threw him against the back of the cage before slamming the door "FUCK YOU… FUCK YOU ALL!" Paul screamed as he kicked the door. The Drone robotically just backed up and moved away.

"Matilda… I'm sorry" then Paul did something he hadn't done in a while, he knelt down and cried… he'd spent so long trying to stay brave, but now he was tired and couldn't keep up the front.

"Hay in there… you alright" a girl's voice came from the left. Paul wiped his eyes, got to his feet and looked across to the next cage. There were several kids in there, but there was a girl his age. She looked Middle Eastern or Indian. "I'm Raya" she said. "Paul…". "Where did that thing take you?" she asked. "The boss man wanted to talk to me about my friend" Paul replied. "Who's your friend?" Raya asked.

Paul felt a small swell of hope, he saw the footage of The Angel with a giant machine gun absolutely ruining these Drone things "Her Name's Nikki… but in New York they call her The Angel of Vermin".

"You know her?" Raya asked "I overheard a few of the others talking about her… she sounds cool". "She is" Paul said "She stopped these guys from catching me in New York…She's a badass… if she's still out there, there's still a chance she can find us".

"We have to rely on ourselves" Raya said "Some of the others and I have been talking, next time they open the cages to feed us… we're all going to try and make a break for it… when they took you up the elevator, did you see a way out back there?".

Paul thought "I don't know… I passed some maintenance tunnels, but I couldn't see where they went". "Anywhere's better than here" Raya said "If even one of us gets out, they can try to let the others know where we are". "Sounds good" Paul said.

---

Looks like the kids are planning their own escape "Connar said". Nikki and Connar had moved in close and watched as Paul Wiseman was brought back down. Evidently Saulaimann was interested in Nikki. They had listened to the conversation with Raya. However the troubling news was what Paul mentioned about Matilda.

Nikki could see that Connar was anxious as he opened a channel back to the others "Guys, we just overheard that they've taken Matilda, they might be about to perform the procedure on her… how's that control room coming?". The reply came though quickly "It's Jack… I'm in… just selecting the Echo Drones in the Holding Area… and…Voilà".

Nikki watched as all the Drones that were patrolling between the cages suddenly stopped moving "Whatever you're gonna do, guys, do it fast, I don't know how long I'm gonna be able to keep them like this".

Nikki moved out and tapped one of the Echo Drones, waving her hand in front of it's face "Yeah, I see you" the Drone said, Nikki instantly drew back her hand to swipe at it "NO, NIKKI… It's Jack, I'm watching you through the Drone". Nikki took a moment to calm down "Jack, don't fuck around". "I'm not… watch this…".

Connar came to her side and they both watched as all of the Drones began moving to the cages and opening them. "Nicely done, Jack" Connar said "Use the Drones to tell the kids where to go".

"NIKKI! NIKKI!" A voice came from the far end of the Aisle. Paul stepped out of his cage, pushed past the Drone and ran to her, he hugged her tightly around the waist and was closely followed by Raya, Amitra's Granddaughter, who threw her arms around Connar. "I remember you, Connar right? You do work for my Grandma?".

"Yeah, kid, she sent us to bring you guys home". Paul pulled away "Nikki… we can't go, they took Matilda… I don't know where". "Which direction?" Nikki asked. Paul pointed to the far end of the holding area where there was a freight elevator. "I'll go" Connar said "You get them out".

Nikki didn't like the idea of separating but she knew this needed to happen and there wasn't time to debate it, she opened a channel back to Jack "Jack, see if you can find out where they took Matilda and if there are any Drones there, shut them down". "I think I'm getting the hang of this" Jack came back "I've set the Drones on your level to passive, so as long as nobody disturbs them, they should remain inert".

"Good job Jack, see if you can clear a path for me" Connar said and started to move away. "Hay!" Nikki called after him "Be careful". Connar turned and nodded, sending her a warm memory to let her know everything was ok, the memory of their trip to Sodus Point, the evening they spent laying in the dunes before going back to the motel.

"You too" Connar said, then he put on his helmet, and hit the switch on the elevator "All Kindred, Nikki is bringing out the Captives while I divert to a priority alarm, Wesley, Huyen, move in and assist".

Nikki heard a series of acknowledgement clicks on the radio and felt her insides tighten as Connar disappeared from sight. She had to focus on getting the others out "Paul, Raya, come on, help me, get everyone together and follow me… we stay low, we stay quiet and we stick together".

Nikki had already made her mind up, as soon as she got back to the small maintenance hatch where they got in, she was going to hand them off to Wesley and Huyen, then come back inside to help the others.

---

Matilda bit, kicked and screamed as the men in blood stained white coats moved around her, they had clamped her face down on the table and shaved off all the hair on the left side of her head before applying something brown and wet and smelled like a cleaning product. "NO… LET ME GO YOU FUCKING PASTEY FACED SKINNY CUNT! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU ALL!".

"That's the spirit" the skinny man said. He was the doctor who appeared to be in charge of the others "Don't worry, we'll fix that mouth of yours too… honestly, such language". "I'LL GIVE YOU A LOT MORE THAN FUCKING LANGUAGE, LET ME GO!".

Matilda couldn't remember a time in her life when she was ever this scared, she had heard what happened to Ethan, they had turned him into a Sighted weapon, incapable of refusing an order. She had seen these Drones, poor souls who had been turned into braindead slaves.

The scientist leaned down with his elbows on the table next to her "Now listen, when you wake up, everything will be better, and you'll have no concerns, no worries, no fears, you'll be a blank slate, trust me, in some ways… I envy you". "FUCK… FUCK YOU!" Matilda screamed and struggled, she would have spat in his face were she not restrained face down.

She heard the whirr of the bone saw spinning up and began to hyperventilate, she had no idea until this moment that someone could be so scared that it hurt. "Well, here we go" the scientist said. Matilda squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation…

The pain wasn't what she expected, she heard it before she felt it, a thud, a loud noise, then a hard bump on the back of her head. She felt warm wet liquid spilling down the back of her head and into her face. She couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a piercing scream.

Matilda screamed all the air out of her lungs over and over again, only pausing to draw in a breath… It took a few seconds before she realised she could no longer hear the bone saw. Then she felt something else, a dry rubbing sensation of fabric being dragged off the back of her head.

Matilda opened her eyes, her head was braced in a hole through the table where she could see the lab floor… it was covered in blood… but not her blood. The scientist was laying by the side of the table with his throat wide open and blood gushing out onto the floor. He was staring at her with wild eyes. Matilda found it hard to focus on him through all the tears.

A second later, she saw two feet come into view and felt the restraints being torn off "It's alright Tilly, I got you". Someone grabbed her and pulled her off the table and she came face to face with Connar Braden… "Connar… CONNAR!". She threw her arms around him and sobbed "YOU CAME"...

"And let you have all the fun… you know me better than that…" Connar said, hugging her tightly, so tightly she could barely breathe "And… you're gonna remember this shit at Christmas right?". Matilda laughed despite herself, she had never been this glad to see another human being in all her life "Connar, they… they were gonna…".

"I know" Connar said "But we're getting out". Matilda felt a swell of panic "Wait, Connar, the others, they're…". Connar held up his hands "Nikki's taking care of them… but you and I need to move, can you walk?". "I can fucking run" Matilda said "But first"...

Matilda pushed her way past him and made her way around the table to the dying scientist, she was surprised to see he still had some life left in him. She was genuinely surprised when he reached up with one hand and mouthed the word… help me. "What was that?" Matilda asked "Sorry, I didn't catch that… maybe you should say it a little FUCKING LOUDER!"

Matilda raised her leg and stomped her heel down on his head over and over again until she heard his skull crack. She had to brace herself against the table to avoid slipping in all the blood. "Now we can fucking go!".

Connar handed her a rifle that he'd taken from one of the Echo Drones. Matilda could see that all the Drones in the hallway were just standing there "What's happening?" she asked. "James and Jack… they took the control room, but we don't have much time, I need you to go out and help the others get to safety while we take this place down".

They cautiously made their way back up the corridor, Matilda saw several dead guards by the freight elevator. Connar was about to usher her inside when several of the Echo Drones that were guarding the area began to twitch and rounded on them, half bringing up their weapons.

Connar aimed his auto shotgun at them but held up his hand "Don't fire, wait". It was hard for Matilda to refrain from pulling the trigger, she had seen what these things could do, Connar got on the radio "Jack what's happening up there… Jack respond!".

"Hello Mongrel" came a voice from behind them. Matilda rounded on the approaching drone first, clamped her finger on the trigger and let fly the entire magazine, dropping not just the one that was approaching, but several behind it. Connar did the same, sending several well placed shots from his Genesis 12 that obliterated the unarmoured Drones guarding the opposite side.

Matilda felt Connar's hand clamp around her upper arm and he practically threw her into the freight elevator "Get to Nikki, I need to help James and Jack… GO!". Before Matilda could say anything he hit the switch and pulled down the shutter.

---

Jack knew the element of surprise wouldn't last, but now they were both in a fight for their lives, against the man who trained them both. Jack briefly disengaged from the drones to try and help James when Gaunt unexpectedly entered the room "JUST KEEP GOING" James bellowed as Gaunt had him up against the wall.

James kept fighting. Jack knew they didn't have much time, he could see through several Echo Drones that the security force were beginning to mobilize. Jack had to secure the exit for their people.

He selected a Squad of Echo Drones that were patrolling near the base of the hill and moved them away. Jack was also aware that while he was engaging with the control terminal, James had made his way through to the mainframe and planted an explosive. He could only hope that Gaunt hadn't seen it.

"GET THEM OUT" James shouted, then turned to Gaunt "COME ON YOU FUCKER!". The two of them were trading a fearsome exchange of blows. Gaunt briefly managed to reach over and pull off the headset, but James was able to tackle him "JACK, SHUT THEM DOWN!".

"I'm on my way" came Connar's voice over the channel. Jack had no choice, he selected a squad of Drones positioned nearest the room and jacked into one of them, he was going to use them against Gaunt.

He could still sense what was going on around him, there was an immense pressure on his legs as Gaunt forced James back over the Control Suite and they were literally fighting on top of him.

"You two were always fucking soft!" Gaunt growled. Jack felt something, a push, a knock, he didn't know what it was, and felt something warm and wet, trickling over his arm. James went silent. Jack went for his sidearm as the headset was ripped off of him revealing Gaunt's smiling face. "HANG ON JACK I'M COMING!" he heard Connar shouting up the hallway, along with shots firing.

Jack managed to get his sidearm out of its holster but Gaunt grabbed it and forced it under his chin. Jack pushed with all his might but the older man was much bigger and much stronger "I'm sorry Connar…" CRACK!

---

"HOLD ON JACK, I'm COMING!" Connar dropped, slid and grappled one guard to the floor before dispatching him with his pistol, he then instantly brought up the Genesis 12 to kill two more approaching around the corner, he could see the door to the control room open and James was laying across Jack with Gaunt wrestling him down.

More guards swarmed in from a side corridor forcing Connar back, his nano-fibre took several rounds but held up, he fired around the corner, taking out three more, spraying blood and viscera across the sterile white floor as the explosive rounds detonated.

When the Shotgun ran dry, he burst from cover, deflecting a rifle, rolling another guard to the floor and taking him out with a headshot before jumping up and pinning another against the opposite wall, Connar smashed the man with his elbow, reloaded and executed him.

There were two more, Connar swept one off his feet, drew his combat knife and plunged it into the other's chest while repeatedly kneeing him in the abdomen. The other recovered, Connar aimed and fired his pistol, hitting the guard in his armoured ballistic mask, it staggered him enough to buy more seconds.

Connar pulled the knife free and slit the throat of the man he was holding before rounding on the other, grabbing his helmet and pulling him over onto the floor, where he lifted his visor and fired five times point blank.

Connar stood up, reloaded the Genesis 12 then fired once into both of them before he heard a shot… but there was no impact on his armour. Connar looked up the corridor where he could see inside the control suite. Jack slumped to the floor and Gaunt smiled.

Connar saw red, adrenaline surged and he charged at the door. Gaunt stood motionless for a moment until Connar raised the shotgun mid run and began firing. The doors began to slide shut. Connar dove at the doors, but it was too late. The massive reinforced doors slammed shut.

Connar smashed his fist against the metal "GAUNT! YOU MISERABLE FUCK!" Connar kicked at the door but it was useless "OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR!". "Oh, Connar, always trying to protect the strays" Gaunt's voice came over a speaker "Well, here we are again…". Connar smashed his fist against the door again "YOU WANT ME! … All you've got to do is open this fucking door and we'll finish this…if you're brave enough?".

"Oh sure, we'll finish it… but we're gonna make this interesting" Gaunt replied. It was then that Connar heard approaching heavy footsteps. He turned and saw a force of Echo Drones approaching up the corridor.

The two in the front raised assault rifles and began firing. Connar dove around the corner and returned fire, but saw that more were coming, he had to move otherwise he'd risk being pincered. He tossed a grenade, dropped, rolled and ran down the stairs "Maya, we lost James and Jack, Gaunt has control of the Drones, repeat Gaunt has control!".

---

After they got the last of them into the maintenance tunnel, Nikki sensed something deeply wrong, she sensed it from both Connar and Maya, during the flight, she had also become attuned to Jack, James and Rust. Jack was trying to focus but was feeling deep panic, James was fighting, his emotions were pure rage and anguish, Connar was also fighting, as were Maya and Rust. Something had gone wrong.

Nikki didn't precisely know what had happened until she heard some spotty cross talk on the radio. The maintenance tunnels blocked a lot of signals from above, something about Gaunt, and something about the Drones coming back online.

Nikki knew she didn't have long, and she had to get back in there "PICK UP THE PACE EVERYONE!". Nikki finally made it to the exit and kicked it open. Surprising three Mercenaries. The first raised his rifle but Nikki darted forward and had him by the throat before he could fire.

She threw his head back against the wall so hard that his skull burst open, the second got off three shots before she swiped his rifle out of his hand and swung it repeatedly into his head until his skull was crushed. Nikki took several shots in the back from the third, all the while thinking "I'll get to you in a minute once I've dealt with your friend".

Nikki turned just in time to see the third mercenary level a 40mm Grenade Launcher at her. A burst of fire off to his left hit him on the chest and head. The Mercenary dropped to his knees and slumped to the ground.

Wesley and Huyen stood up out of the brush "Good timing" Nikki said "The Others are in trouble, I need to get back in there". "We've got this" Huyen said. It was only then that Nikki turned to Paul, Raya and the group of children at the entrance to the tunnel. Paul had seen her fight, but the others were looking at her with expressions of abject terror. "It's ok" she said.

Several of them backed away as she made her way back to Paul "Listen Paul, I need you to be brave again for me… help these guys get everyone out and as far away as you can". Nikki could sense that Paul was trying desperately to hide the lump in his throat and fight back tears "Where are you going?" he asked. "Connar, Maya and the others are in trouble back there… I gotta go do my thing". Nikki offered her fist, after a few moments, Paul did the same and they fist bumped.

"Ok, get going" Nikki told them as she walked over and grabbed the 40mm launcher from the dead mercenary. "Where are you going?" Wesley asked.

"To finish this".

---

Maya entered an area that looked more decorative, more indulgent, there were paintings on the walls, glass tables in the corners with vases and local flora to freshen the air. Connar's words through the channel hit her like a sledgehammer "Maya, we lost James and Jack, Gaunt has control of the Drones, repeat Gaunt has control!".

Maya stopped and took a breath, Jack was still in his teens when she found him in the Silo on Day Zero and James, James he had been a good friend to her ever since she knew him, they had fought together so many times. He was like an older brother to Jack. Rust swept around the corner, covering her. "Maya, not now, we need to find this man" he said. Up ahead there was the unmistakable sound of classical music.

Maya looked up with stinging eyes and surged forward, making her way around the corner to find a pristine office space at the centre of which was an extremely expensive chippendale desk. The man sitting behind that desk was dressed in a sharp, cream coloured suit. Well groomed, with a middle eastern appearance and a shaved head.

"Armin Saulaimann?" Maya asked. "Maya Le Fauconnière… have you come to kill me?" Saulaimann said without looking up from his laptop. "GET UP!" Maya shouted. Rust stepped around the desk with his rifle raised "Call off your men… do it now!".

"That depends" Saulaimann said "I could call Gaunt off… but what do I get in return?". "You took children…" Maya you turned people I grew up with into mindless killers… you killed my friends… now CALL THEM OFF! … I won't repeat myself again".

Maya could see Saulaimann's devious wheels turning and sensed his thought patterns, he knew he still had cards to play "I will call them off… in exchange for safe passage". Maya's finger began to slip onto the trigger… and then she relaxed… She let Roland live in exchange for information over the years.

She could let this man live in exchange for all the children and the lives of her friends. Maya was forced to consider her options. Rust, however, was the one who's temper reached its end first, he took a step towards Saulaimann and raised the buttstock of his rifle with the aim of battering the man with it. "RUST NO!"...

Maya could see from Saulaimann's posture, his body type, his stance that he was a trained fighter, his thought patterns, emotional control and bodily rhythms corroborated it… In the next instant, Saulaimann caught Rust's elbow, pulled him into a twisted lock and drew a knife, plunging it into Rust's side, now he had Rust in a grip, using him as a human shield.

"That's the Iliac Artery Miss Le Fauconnière… but you know that, don't you… I pull this blade out and you could shoot me but your friend will bleed out inside five minutes… however, if you tell your friends to disengage and give themselves up, I will ensure his safety". Rust grunted in pain as Saulaimann tightened his grip… "Let me be clear, Miss Le Fauconnière… I never repeat myself".

It wasn't often that Maya found herself caught in an untenable situation, she wasn't fast enough to find a shot, now Saulaimann had the upper hand. Maya heard heavy footfalls as four heavily armoured Echo Drones marched into the room and flanked her. "So what's it going to be Miss Le Fauconnière" Saulaimann asked. "Maya, just shoot him" Rust growled. Saulaimann gripped the blade tighter again, causing him incredible pain "Well… looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way… kill her".

"No, wait… stop!" Maya shouted as the Drones raised their rifles. Saulaimann nodded and they held fire. Maya slowly took a step back and lowered her rifle. "See how easy it is when you just do as you're told?" Saulaimann asked calmly.

---

They had managed to get the captives back into the tree line, but that was when everything went Wrong. The first explosions were near the airstrip and hangar where Khadduj and Ewa became engaged by a large force of Echo Drones which came swarming in from all directions. The jungle was heavily patrolled and now all their squads were converging.

They only just managed to make it back up the road and link up with Wesley and Huyen before the Drones converged and began a pursuit, from there, the situation devolved into a running battle through the jungle.

"Suppressive Fire" Wesley shouted, Huyen came to his side as Ewa and Khedduj ran past them to keep the group moving. The Echo Drones formed a skirmish line and began firing. Wesley and Huyen fired Grenades in perfect unison several Drones were thrown into the air. To Wesley's horror, one of the Drones struggled to it's feet, with one arm blown off and a significant portion of it's abdomen missing and continued to advance, still firing. It continued to do so until its body naturally bled out and it dropped.

"FALL BACK… RUN… GET THEM BACK!" Wesley shouted. A round struck him in the shoulder and he was spun, falling hard. Huyen grabbed the handle on the back of his jacket and dragged him down into a ditch "Hay!" she shouted "Don't check out on me… we need to give them a chance… you good?".

Filled with a fresh rage, Wesley reloaded and got into position from here, he had better cover… he saw the line of Echo Drones advancing, clamped his finger on the trigger and prepared to sell his life.

---

Nikki ran back around the hill to the front of the compound. She could hear the gunfire and explosions in the distance and knew the Drone patrols were trying to catch them… there was only one way to stop this now, she had to reach that mainframe and destroy it herself.

As she crossed the front compound, she could see Saulaimann's observation deck high above, set into the hillside. No more sneaking in through the maintenance tunnels, she was taking her fight right into their open maw.

A large security force were embedded and flood lights came on across the compound, all aimed at her. A mix of Echo Drones and Mercenary Contractors surged out of the entrance. Nikki stood motionless and stared back at them. "HALT… STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE… GIVE YOURSELF UP!" came an American sounding voice over a loudspeaker.

Nikki smiled and raised her hands as a group of heavy set men approached her with their rifles raised, she let her .50 Beowulf fall by her side. One of them, a large body builder type with a shaved head and 80% tattoos, stepped forward and reached out to take her weapons "Just one thing…" she asked. The man paused and looked at her… "I've got a party to go to… and no one to take me?".

Nikki swiped at his face, she swore she saw the expression of surprise register on what was left of his eye sockets before he slumped to the floor. A second later, the place lit up muzzle flares and a hail of bullets came in from all directions.

Nikki dove and rolled, then advanced around one large prefab building, taking shots as she went. The .50 Beowulf was indeed effective against the armoured Echo Drones as heads were obliterated. By the time Nikki reached the first checkpoint she was covered in a mixture of blood and skull fragments.

Nikki kept going, tearing through the mesh fencing, she had to hold on to what came after all this, a fresh start, and this Saulaimann stood in the way of that. Nothing would protect him from her now, not men, not weapons, not armour.

Nikki lost count of how many Echo Drones got in her way, they swarmed her from all directions. She fired every last magazine she had in her rifle before it ran dry, she didn't bother drawing her sidearm as it wasn't enough against their armour… her blades and claws were a different matter.

She ripped, she tore, she slashed, she bludgeoned and she smashed. It was a symphony of blood and viscera in the air as Nikki fell upon them with her full wrath. She tore them to pieces. Every single one.

She took an XM250 from one of them and advanced up the centre firing it non stop, one handed until the magazine went dry, then hurled it at an advancing Drone, obliterating its skull. She deflected the rifle of one Drone and tore out its rebreather mask, only to discover the tubes went down its throat, it made a disgusting gurgling sound and kept firing.

Nikki pulled the pin of a grenade on its belt and then kicked it hard. It flew backwards twenty feet, smashing a group of its comrades to the ground like human bowling pins. Being thrown around didn't seem to phase them as they all struggled to their feet and continued to fire, but the grenade chose that moment to go off and those particular drones were near a shed that was evidently being used to store fuel…

Nikki was thrown several feet by the force of the blast which rocked the entire compound. She felt something soft and moving beneath her and realised she had landed on top of one of the Private Military Contractors "Oh hay… was it good for you?" she asked. The man's face was abject panic as he went for his sidearm. Nikki grabbed his head and twisted it 90 degrees, hearing a wet crack "No?... well, it's not for everyone".

Nikki got up and ran, ignoring the paltry few drones that were still standing and made her way through the tunnel into the facility. She ended up back in the holding area and made her way up the freight elevator to the upper levels. The place was a maze, but Nikki was able to follow Connar's scent and psychic trail. He had come this way after getting Matilda out.

She could hear gunfire up ahead. Connar had been too late to save Jack and James, but that was not going to happen to him.

Nikki allowed the change to come over her as she came into the last quadrant of the control complex, she could see the large reinforced doors at the far end. Several Drones were in the corridor, but Nikki broke into a full sprint and charged at them.

These Drones were lightly armoured and the first one that got in her path was utterly destroyed as she ran right through it, sending its limbs and organs in all directions. The same fate befell the second, and the third. The fourth actually managed to get a few shots off, but it was useless.

The Door came up hard and Nikki put all her strength into it now, and threw herself at the door. Nikki's hard chitinous body impacted the security door with a force so immense that the entire door was blasted off its rails and Nikki rode it like a surfboard into the large room beyond. When she stood up, and looked around she was in a room full of server banks and supercomputers.

In the opposite room, through a glass partition, she saw a man pull up a headset and look at her in utter shock. It was Gaunt, the room he occupied was clearly soundproofed but she saw him utter the word "Impossible". She wasted no time and launched herself into the banks of servers. Swiping in all directions, sending up showers of sparks and small explosions.

One of the Drones followed her into the room and levelled it's rifle. Nikki turned to engage it, but she saw that it was spasming and struggling to move… it was also uttering a horrid whine of agony… It's working she thought "I… free… you…" and set about smashing more of the computers and server banks. In a small circular room separate at the back. Nikki saw one large, cylindrical supercomputer.

She still had the 40mm launcher on her that she had taken from the dead security merc outside. Now was the time to use it. Nikki took hold of it by her side, aimed at the machine and pulled the trigger.

The Explosion was bigger than she expected and an immense wave of fire and sparks spread through the room. Nikki ducked, but the drone wasn't so lucky. It fell to the floor now it was screaming as it burned and the device attached to the back of its skull sputtered and sparked. I'm so sorry Nikki thought and brought her fist down hard on its head… giving it a quick mercy.

Nikki rose to her feet and looked out into the hallway. All of the Drones were spasming on their feet as their neural implants sparked and blew out. Thankfully what followed for each of them was an instant death as they dropped one by one.

Nikki slowly turned and looked back into the control suite. Gaunt was still there and his eyes were wide with shock and disgust. Now for you she thought I'm going to enjoy this.

Nikki made her way over to the sealed room and raised her claw to destroy the partition, but only then did she notice there was another way out of the room on the opposite side. Gaunt held up a plastic explosive and waved at her. Nikki realised it was the explosive James had planted. Gaunt must have found it. He flipped the switch on the detonator, threw it in her direction and ran for the opposite exit.

Nikki threw herself back as the wall and partition door came apart in a massive explosion that sent her reeling across the room. Nikki's rage was now absolute and she rose to her feet roaring her fury, only one thing stopped her, as she began to march forward, a figure off to her right caught her attention.

Connar stepped into the room "Nikki…". Connar was cut, bruised and panting but alive. Nikki stopped in her tracks and stared at him… he stared back at her for a moment before she launched herself at him and hugged him tightly, slipping back into her human form "I thought you were dead". "I'll never be dead so long as you're around" Connar said.

Nikki knew they didn't have much time "I'll go get Maya, she went to find Saulaimann… but Gaunt went that way…". Connar nodded and checked his weapons. He was about to move when she put her hand on his chest "Be careful". "You too" Connar said.

They parted ways, knowing only one final effort was all that remained. Nikki made her way up through the complex while Connar made his way down in pursuit of Gaunt.

---

"Just… Take the Fucking Shot Maya!" Rust growled. Saulaimann moved behind Rust and Maya knew that even if she found a clean shot, he would pull that knife out of Rust and he would bleed to death before she could save him "I'm not losing anyone else today". "That's touching" Saulaimann said "But I am a man of my word… if you relinquish your weapon I will…". "You'll what?... turn us into these fucking things" Maya shouted.

"Maya, may I call you Maya" Saulaimann began as he manoeuvred Rust around the desk "You don't know why I'm doing this… you don't know what's coming… if you did, you might be standing by my side". "AS A FUCKING SLAVE!" Maya screamed and took a step forward "There is nothing you can say to justify this!". Saulaimann grinned "This is just the beginning".

Before he could finish the sentence, there was a massive explosion outside at the front of the compound and the entire facility was rocked. Saulaimann wasn't immune to the instinct to turn and look and that was when Maya saw her opportunity, she raised her rifle and fired, the shot wasn't straight, nor was it intended to be a killshot, but it had the desired effect. The Bullet struck Saulaimann in the right cheek and opened up one whole side of his face. She could see his teeth.

Saulaimann's hand left the knife, and moved up to cover the grizzly wound on his face. Rust dropped on his back and slid himself around the desk as Maya dove into cover behind a statue as the Echo Drones opened fire. "KILL THEM!" Saulaimann screamed as he retreated from the room covered by two of the Echo Drones as Maya.

Maya's Nano-Fibre took several rounds. They were painful and knocked her off balance but thankfully, the upgraded armour held true. From her position, she saw Rust prime a grenade and lob it back over Saulaimann's desk. One of the Echo Drones was thrown off it's feet by the blast but was still firing. Maya waited for the inevitable reload and then slid out of cover, aiming for the joints and the neck. She took several precision shots and the downed Drone stopped moving.

The second Drone finished its reload and advanced. That was when Maya heard it make a strange sound, like a bleep and a click then "Hello Maya, big family Reunion" Gaunt's voice came from the Drone "I cannot tell you how much fun this is, I've got a squad downstairs about to bag that fucking mongrel… but you… you're the one who set all that in motion back at the Silo…".

Maya considered her options, this Drone was being controlled directly by Gaunt and that meant more were likely on the way. She looked over at Rust. He looked like he was fading, he was holding onto the knife, trying to keep it in position, it didn't look like he had any more grenades.

"Why don't you step out Maya?" Gaunt said "How many more times are we doing to have to do this?". Another Explosion rocked the facility, this time it was somewhere beneath them. "Shit" Gaunt said "Hold on Maya… Mungrel's freaky girlfriend is being a nuisance, I'll leave you in the capable hands of the Drone for a minute…".

Maya knew she might only have a split second and she took it. She switched sides at the base of the statue and came up firing right as Gaunt relinquished control. She saw the ocular sensors on the helmet flash white for a moment and then the Drone recovered, but too late, Maya aimed and sent an entire magazine of AP .308 into its upper chest and neck joint.

The Armour took the damage but the drone staggered and it's XM250 slumped by it's side but it wasn't done. It was recovering and bringing the LMG back up to aim. Maya dropped, rolled, closed the distance and came up with a spinning kick, knocking the stricken drone to the ground.

It raised the LMG but she caught it and re-directed it, jamming the barrel under the Drone's chin, then she pulled the trigger. The helmet came apart with blood and brain matter.

Maya dropped the LMG and rushed around the desk to grab Rust "Hay, are you alive, come on, we need to go after him!". Rust was in a bad way "No… you go… I'm out of this fight" he said.

Maya knew from his condition that he wouldn't be able to catch Saulaimann and would likely die if he attempted to run "While you have breath in you… you fight… let's get Moving!".

Rust grabbed her jacket and pulled her face to face "Go Maya, I'll try to get a message to Amitra from here… go and kill him!". Maya knew he was right, there was no way he could continue without further injury. She picked up her rifle and laid it on Saulaimann's desk "Stay alive!" she said and ran out of the room.

---

Nikki fought her way up through several floors, the Echo Drones were gone, but there were many more Contractors, Saulaimann's paid mercenaries who thought nothing of the suffering they had caused. She had ripped and slashed her way through so many that she was now slick with blood, her clothes, what was left of them were crimson.

Before long she sensed a familiar presence and realised Maya was up ahead somewhere, this part of the complex was reserved for research, it was a lab, a testing facility, this was where the Echo Drones and also the Sighted Shades were created.

Arrayed along one wall was a glass partition, behind which was a row of metal tables. On each table was a person laying face down. A machine was in the process of implanting the interlink device at the moment Nikki smashed the system… all of the people on the tables were now dead. I'm sorry she thought I couldn't save you…but I can stop this from happening to anyone else.

After finishing off yet another squad of heavily armed mercenaries, Nikki had to admit to herself, she was growing weary of this. She was in the thick of a slaughter and no closer to finding the one person she came here to kill. Nikki heard a groan and realised one of the guards was still alive, she reached down and picked him up by his throat.

There was only one man left to kill and that was Saulaimann, Nikki cooled her fury long enough to ask "Where… Saulaimann". Her true form was more suited to psychic communication and she had to make a concerted effort to form understandable words.

The guard looked beyond terrified, he had four long lacerations across his chest from where she had swiped him earlier, evidently not quite deep enough. His eyes were wide and his veins were showing on his face, he was sweating, he had the look of a man who knew he was about to die, she had seen that look before, Robbie, John, Marlo… Arden. He looked not just at her but all of his comrades laying dismembered around the lab. "WHERE… SAULAIMANN…" Nikki growled.

"The… The hanger…" the guard finally uttered, he was so terrified, he could barely form words himself. Nikki crushed his throat and threw him aside like a ragdoll.

Nikki heard an exchange of gunfire followed by a grenade beyond the lab and in the next instant, Maya kicked open the door.

She too looked like she had fought her way down the stairs, her tactical clothing was flecked with blood, she lifted her helmet "Nikki… where are the others?"

Nikki took a breath and relaxed enough to fall back into her human form in order to say "I got the kids out and took care of the Echo Drones, but James and Jack are dead… Connar went after Gaunt". Nikki saw how Maya was barely holding her grief in check. "Saulaimann got away" Maya said "Rust is hurt, he's up there trying to send a message".

Nikki sensed someone approaching and she saw that Maya did too. Another familiar presence, but one they didn't expect. The door at the opposite end of the lab slid open and Matilda edged her way in, covering her corners with an Assault Rifle she had no doubt pilfered from a dead guard "Nikki… Maya!". "Tilly what are you doing up here, you should have gone out with the others!" Maya shouted. "Connar got me out but I couldn't just leave!".

Nikki turned back to Maya "Saulaimann went to the hanger, most of his men are dead now, you take care of the others, I'll go after him". Maya reloaded the rifle and went to move around Nikki "No, this is my job, I have to finish it". Nikki put her blood soaked hand out and stopped Maya "Maya… the others look up to you… take care of them… take care of Connar… leave Saulaimann to me… please".

Maya took a breath and looked hard into Nikki's eyes, holding her gaze. "I can do it" Nikki assured her. Maya finally relented "Alright… Tilly, since you're here, you go through this door, three flights up you'll come to Saulaimann's office, go help Rust… I'll get the others together and we'll clear up any remaining Mercs".

Nikki nodded and they went their separate ways. Nikki threw open the lab door and broke into a jog and then into a full sprint, by the time she reached her full speed she was back in her true form and ready to end this nightmare.

---

Saulaimann got on the radio to Gaunt as he made his way to the medical wing, he tapped his earpiece several times but there was no answer, only static. That was when he noticed the Drone next to him begin to twitch.

Saulaimann stopped and inspected it… they were both doing it. Saulaimann removed the Drone's helmet and checked the Interlink device, it was glitching, something was badly wrong here, but he knew how to reset this and pulled out his phone, which contained a system restart uplink to the Drone Control System.

He was about to tap the reset key when both of the Echo Drone's implants began to spark and sputter. The Drones went rigid, dropped their weapons and grabbed their heads, screaming in agony before the implants exploded and they both dropped.

No… it took years to create this… years! This wasn't happening! Saulaimann backed up against the wall, the pain from the wound on his face grew more intense as his mind raced. He was a practical man, and he knew that this kind of damage was irreparable for the time being, he would have to regroup, he still had his research and the capital to start over.

These were Raven operators and also, they were Whispers… he knew that they were inside the facility, likely with that creature, there was only one course of action, he had to make it to the hangar and escape. He made his decision, took the sidearm from one of the Drones and began to run. He would have to patch himself up when he was safely away from this place, for now, they had the upper hand.

The security force were fully deployed and he could hear shots behind him as he passed through the research and development area. He knew that Maya Le Fauconnière would not stop, he had heard stories of her persistence. Connar Braden was also loose in here somewhere, Gaunt's scarred face and head was a constant reminder that Braden was capable of the more pure savagery when roused to violence.

Several Drones, still in the conversion process, were still laying on the tables. It was then that he heard it. The screams, the piercing screams, accompanied by shots and then the inhuman roars… the creature was here!

He picked up the pace and made his way down the stairs one floor to the rear hangar which was built into the rock on the far side of the hill. He knew that inside there would be an MH6 Little Bird he could use to escape. He couldn't help but lament at all the damage that had been done as he stepped over the bodies of dead Echo Drones which had fallen when the control system crashed.

He used his biometric to open the doors to the hanger and stepped inside, making sure the reinforced doors were sealed behind him. Looking around, it seemed they hadn't attacked the hanger yet, though all the Drones inside were dead. There was one MH6 at the front end which was in the process of refuelling when the Drone manning it fell.

Checking his surroundings, Saulaimann made his way over and pulled the body of the Drone off of the fuel pump. Satisfied that there would be enough fuel in the Helicopter for him to make it to the outskirts of Lubumbashi, he pulled out the nozzle, closed the seal and climbed in to start a pre-flight check.

He was midway through the system check when there was a loud impact on the inner Hanger Doors where he had entered. Saulaimann leaned out and craned his neck to see the door, just then there was another hard impact and he saw the door buckle. There was a loud roar from the other side and then another colossal impact. Saulaimann activated all the systems and started the engine. Willing the rotor blades to spin up faster as another impact bent the door frame.

The rotors were almost there, Saulaimann took hold of the joystick and pulled, just at that moment, she broke through and charged across the hanger floor towards the helicopter. The MH6 lifted off the ground, but it was too late. Saulaimann saw her take a running leap and braced for impact… It was like slow motion.

The MH6 had risen six feet when she leaped at it. Saulaimann saw the creature grab the landing skids and, in her immense strength and momentum, she pulled the MH6 to one side so far the the main rotor impacted the ground.

"NOOOOO!" Saulaimann screamed as the Helicopter pitched to one side and impacted the ground, spinning in a wide arc as parts of the main rotor flew in all directions. The Helicopter spun around off of its own momentum across the hanger deck before impacting against a low loader and coming to an abrupt halt. For a brief moment, everything came to a standstill and it was quiet, then the side door was torn off and a chitinous hand reached inside.

Saulaimann felt razor sharp claws dig into his flesh and he was pulled up and thrown out of the stricken vehicle. The impact was hard and painful, Saulaimann felt a rib crack and rolled over, attempting to stand.

He stole a glance behind, the creature was following him, calmly, not stalking, just matching his slow pace, calmly and confidently. There was nothing for it, Saulaimann pulled the pistol he had taken from the Drone and fired every single shot into the creature. She stood there, motionless, letting the bullets impact against her chitinous body. She was elegant, and strangely beautiful. "What…are… you…" Saulaimann uttered.

The creature began to move, slowly striding over to him. As it did, something began to change. Its carapace lost its translucence and became soft, human flesh, the tendrils on its head unbonded and flowed down into beautiful blonde hair, and its over defined features softened, becoming more human. She was beyond beautiful, even in her torn, bloodied and charred clothes, she was breath-taking.

"Shhh" she said and put a finger on his lips… "I came all the way from New York for this…" and pulled him into an extraordinarily passionate kiss. Saulaimann couldn't understand what was happening as he felt her tongue enter his mouth, but her grip was too powerful for him to pull back even before he had the thought to kiss back.

It was then that he felt something… the texture of her tongue changed, and it went deeper into his mouth. Saulaimann coughed and tried to pull back as her tongue forced its way past his tonsils, forcing a gag reflex.

He felt her hands grab the back on his head and her tongue exerted an immense pressure on the back of his throat. Saulaimann screamed as he felt her tongue break though the soft flesh at the back of his throat and tasted blood welling up into his mouth… he struggled but her grip was vice-like.

Her tongue continued, breaking though the vertebrae at the back of his neck, where his spinal cord met the base of his skull he heard an immense cracking sound as it was crushed and then a wet POP as her tongue burst out through the back of his neck. At that point, finally she let go, retracted her tongue and gave him a gentle push…

Saulaimann's body felt strange, limp, like a trapped nerve. His rational mind told him she had severed the connection at the base of his skull and he only had a few minutes, if that…

He took an unsteady step backward, and then managed another, but all sensation was quickly leaving his limbs, and they felt numb, dead. The ground came up hard as he toppled over onto his back. All feeling was leaving his body, the only thing he could feel was the cold numbness, he could taste the blood in his mouth. He was staring up at her and she stared down at him… he knew, in that moment, what she was doing… She was watching him die.

The feeling of numbness reached his lower abdomen and then his chest, abject panic set in as his diaphragm became numb and harder to move, he found that the act of drawing breath was becoming more and more difficult with each passing second.

He was once a neurosurgeon, he knew what was happening, the neural pathways were shutting down, soon his brain would lose the ability to control his other functions, like his breathing and he would suffocate. "You asked what I am" the woman said calmly, almost solemnly. She was checking her nails and flicking away some stubborn viscera.

His vision blurred in and out, that was the lack of oxygen setting in, his chest felt like it was being filled with cement "I can tell you what I was… I was a girl who ran away… A girl who became a woman… they called me a killer, a monster… and I was, I didn't care about anything but my own survival… until I became a mother… but then I lost everything, all burned away" She knelt down next to him and continued "Now, on the streets, they call me an angel… but you and I know the truth, don't we? One killer to another… One monster to another… the difference between you and me… you chose to do what you've done, to become what you are… but me… I didn't know any better at first, until I learned the value of a life… So I choose to be something new…perhaps if I kill enough monsters, the one inside me will finally find some peace". She paused and with a tilt of her head, she added "But who knows right?".

The last thing Armin Soulaimann saw as his vision became blurry was the woman stand up, raise her boot and bring it down on his face.

"Die in Darkness… Motherfucker…".

---

It had all gone wrong… again! What the fuck was she? Gaunt thought as he ran… back in the Silo, there had been dozens of them, all over the place, killing the science staff, the research staff, the guards and even the fucking cooks, but this was different, Maya had brought a small force and … that thing. He vowed that when he got out of here, he'd lay low a while and then he would hunt that fucking thing and Braden down and finish the job for good…

Gaunt cleared the tunnel and made his way through the smashed gate to the outer compound. It was a charnelhouse, there were torn up bodies and everything was on fire. The smell of human flesh burning on the fires was nothing he hadn't smelled before in other countries.

He picked up the pace, but that was when something made him stop in his tracks, he froze. He wasn't Sighted, not like them, but he did have that gut feeling, a soldiers' intuition when he was being watched.

That's when he saw it. The smoke ahead of him cleared for a brief moment and there was a figure standing there. Gaunt knew it before he saw him. He moved forward several paces until he could see more clearly . . . "Braden!".

Connar Braden, Raven 23, the Hooded Crow was standing in the centre of the outer gate of the compound, surrounded by torn up bodies, the ground beneath his feet was slick with blood. He looked like he was waiting.

That was when Gaunt noticed another shadow in the smoke. Maya Durand approached from the right and raised her rifle. Braden raised a hand "Maya… no". A deep guttural growl to his left made him slowly turn… it was the woman, the thing, covered in blood and shredded clothes. Despite bloodied appearance, up close, she was quite beautiful, with long blonde hair, a fit body and deep blue/gray eyes.

"So… who wants it…" Gaunt asked. Just then, more shapes emerged through the smoke. Four of them materialized into Ewa Morozov - Raven 44 the others were Wesley Baptiste - Raven 56 and Huyen Xuan - Raven 167. The last was an Arabic woman who Gaunt didn't recognise.

They all just stared at him in silence, nobody said a word. Gaunt's anger rose, he had trained them since they were children and teenagers, and they had turned on him, he had made them strong, he had made them lethal, he had made them Ravens "WELL COME ON… WHICH ONE OF YOU WANTS A SHOT AT THE TITLE! NOBODY FUCKING BRAVE ENOUGH!".

---

Nikki could feel the tension in the air, this was something for them. This man, Gaunt, he had trained them, but he had also brutalised them and forced them to kill from an early age, he had particularly victimised Connar and Maya, and he had hunted them relentlessly when they escaped.

He shouted and screamed at them in his drill sergeant voice, but none of them responded. Nikki could usually sense every emotion Connar felt, he was usually vibrant, but right now at this moment, he was like a stone, as were they all.

When Gaunt finished his rant, Connar finally spoke, calmly and clearly "The Morrigan Program had government backing". "Yeah… so fucking what… last I heard you lot killed everyone involved". "There's only one left" Maya said in a low voice. "Well then, who's gonna try it…" he pointed at Connar "That fucking idiot already tried".

"I want to know one thing" Connar asked "The British Government… Roland… Saulaimann… the things you put us all through… did you do it because you were following orders… or did you do it on your own will?".

Gaunt locked eyes with him and his tense posture relaxed. To Nikki's surprise, the larger man started to laugh "What?... is this the part where I'm supposed to plead for forgiveness and say they made me do it? You… All of you are the hardest bastards you know… and that's because of me… The missions we undertook created real change, I trained you to make a difference in this fucked up world we live in… so you bet your crusty arse I did it because I chose to… I could have stayed in the regiment… but there will always be someone like me, willing to do the dirty work".

Gaunt clearly struck a nerve with all of them, Nikki sensed their anger collectively rise to a boiling point, but it seemed all of them were in some kind of silent agreement not to let Gaunt get a rise out of them and forced it back down, becoming like stone again. Nikki decided she would follow suit and forced calm upon herself, no matter how much she wanted to pull this man, this monster of a man apart… it wasn't for her to do.

A new look came over Connar, one that Nikki hadn't seen before, he went from being a stone to being cold, like he had become Ice. He locked Gaunt's gaze "I see…" he uttered. Nikki watched them both, and also noted that the others were all taking small steps back.

The sound of the light breeze and the fires was the only sound now as Gaunt and Connar stared at one another. Both of them were armed and standing roughly twenty paces apart…

At the same precise moment, there was a blur of motion from them both, Gaunt and Connar went for their Sidearms.

Gaunt reached across for a shoulder holster and Connar's gun was on his leg.

CRACK!
CRACK!

Nikki flinched and stared at Connar, making a quick assessment, there were no wounds on him. Nikki looked over at Gaunt just in time to see the Browning High Power fall from his hands.

There was a bullet wound right in the centre of his throat and blood was gushing down his chest. "Then you must've been prepared for the worst…" Connar said in a low, calm voice. Both of Gaunt's hands went up to his throat and his breathing was now a disgusting raspy sucking noise as he struggled to keep pressure on the wound.

Connar slowly approached him, gun in hand and stood over him "Look at me". Gaunt struggled but managed to raise his eyes to look at Connar. "You did make us strong… I should thank you for that" Connar began "I should also thank you for the company of the many Ghosts I acquired as your attack dog… I have made my peace with them so now they keep me company in those dark hours, when the sun goes down, the air goes dead and cold sets in… I am never truly alone… you gave me that… thank you, Overseer Gaunt for your many lessons… I shall never forget them…"

Nikki found herself welling up at his words, making what peace he could with what Gaunt, Roland and Project Morrigan had forced him to become, the lives he had taken under their orders, the life he could have lived had he not been taken.

Then Connar said something that was truly unexpected. "You know, Gaunt, I believe everything happens for a reason…and I have come to believe, the path that you and Roland set me upon ultimately led me to someone I love more than life itself… and I'm so grateful for that, that I've decided to forgive you…".

Connar watched Gaunt for a few more moments. The older man's expression was now devoid of all hope, he knew it was over…his horrific sucking breaths became shorter, and then stopped entirely. His eyes met Connar's one last time and registered something like curiosity before they rolled back and closed.

Nikki sensed his heartbeat, lungs, and all his bodily rhythms shut down and the man slumped to one side and settled onto the ground.

It was only then that Nikki realised she too had been holding her breath and let it out in a long exhalation. Still watching Connar, who slowly holstered his sidearm and closed his eyes, letting his emotions once again rise to the surface… he felt warmer, contented, relieved, like a great weight had been lifted.

The smoke cleared and Matilda came out, shouldering an injured Rust. Nikki sensed the over three hundred captives who Gaunt and Saulaimann had taken just over the rise, waiting for them.

Nikki took a step forward and slowly slipped her arms around Connar, whispering gently into his ear "Let's go home".

---

In the next few hours, Frank "Bomber" Harris returned and landed his plane on the airstrip. It was followed shortly thereafter by Amitra's private jet. Amitra stepped off, accompanied by Dimitri and also by Victoria Noodin, leader of the west coast Coven, she had taken leave and flown in from the US.

They had used supplies found in the Medical lab to remove the knife and stabilise Rust enough for him to travel "He's looking at a long recovery, but he'll be alright" Amitra said as she watched him being carried onto her plane. Raya ran up out of the small hanger where the freed captives were sheltering and threw her arms around Amitra.

"Thank you" Amitra said through streaming eyes. Nikki smiled. "Will you consider joining us Nikki" Dimitri asked. Maya was leaning on the side of the hanger and Nikki noticed a small smile grow on her face. "I'm not much of a joiner" Nikki said "But you can call me if you need me". "I suppose you'll be wanting to go back to New York" Amitra asked.

Nikki smiled and her gaze fell onto Connar "Eventually" she said "But not yet… I have a party to go to… but this time I have someone to take me". Connar smiled and fell into step with Nikki as they made their way to Frank's plane. Maya also joined them.

Nikki took one last look out across the jungle to see the sunrise. For the first time in her life, she felt like she had truly done something right, something good.

---

EPILOGUE: COLD MOON

ISLE OF BARRA - OUTER HEBRIDES

The strange presence that had been bothering Nikki since she left New York had abruptly stopped shortly before she entered Saulaimann's facility. Perhaps one day she would find out what it was… or perhaps not, it didn't matter.

Nikki, Connar and Maya would spend the next six months in the UK, where they travelled the length and breadth of the country with Connar's family "The Bloody Braden's". Nikki got to know them all, their crazy antics never ceased and they all made her feel welcome. Nikki particularly hit it off with Connar's sister Kazia Braden, who despite being the third youngest, appeared to rule the roost.

As the year drew to a close, Nikki was once again witness to something secret and profound. They all travelled North. Where they crossed into Scotland and then boarded a ferry which took them to a small, isolated Island in the outer Hebrides. She saw people she had encountered in various Communes during her travels were already there, including Dimitri, even Khedduj was there.

This small island was where Alice Kyteler wrote the Stone Canon, the Whisper Code. Where she hid from the authorities after her Witch Trial.

She had travelled from this island and rescued accused men, women and children across Europe, as far east as Russia and as far south as the Middle East. She had formed the disperite clans of Sighted into what would become the 12 Whisper Covens. She had then returned here and secretly lived out her days.

Every year on the Winter Solstice, Whispers from all Covens would gather on this Island. Some were newly inducted, others were here to remember the passing of loved ones. Given what had happened earlier this year, many had come, from all over the world. Not only that, but this year's Solstice coincided with the Cold Moon, the last full Moon of the year.

Nikki made her way over a small hill and looked down on the edge of a secluded beach on the northernmost point of the Island. They built a large bonfire and as night fell, they all gathered. Some were solemn, some were hopeful, all were among friends and dearest kin.

Nikki could sense their collective thoughts and emotions, the presence of so many sighted in one place was almost intoxicating. She looked around and saw that they came from all backgrounds, the Whispers were more than a secret society of Sighted, more than a covert organisation dedicated to protecting their own… they were, above all else, a family across borders, and across cultures… and she was with them.

When this year's winter solstice approached, it had brought with it the end of a year of hardships for them all. For her part, Nikki had been forced out of the comfort zone of her tunnels and ally's of New York and out into the wider world. She had seen suffering on a scale she hadn't imagined, but she had also seen courage, strength and hope flourish in the face of incredible adversity and the worst aspects of humanity, things with which she was all too familiar.

And yet.. she felt something she had never felt before… she felt accepted. These people, these misfit, outcast and secretive people, these Whispers who had fought a centuries long battle against persecution had witnessed her in her natural form, and still they had welcomed her, made her feel like one of them.

Connar stood at her side, she felt closer to him than ever now, they had met under adverse circumstances and she had bonded with him... Now after travelling the world and fighting alongside him, and the Whispers, she felt their bond was now unbreakable.

"We met on a night like this" Nikki breathed deep of the frigid air and looked across the beach. Connar slipped his arm around her and pulled her close. All the people standing vigil, casting silhouettes in the moonlight. Maya was standing nearby, hooded, her head down, deep in thought and reminiscence.

She was standing with Connar's siblings, his six of his brothers and two sisters. This was the quietest she had ever seen them, all deep in reflection. Many Whispers had died in the battle to stop the resurgent project, and now they would be remembered. They had all gathered here. A place where the first Whispers of their newly reformed order had gathered.

It was almost time.

Amitra and the other Council Members made their way through the gathered Whispers and stood near the bonfire. It was a time to rekindle friendships and more, they were spread far and wide throughout the world, but now they were all together.

The other Council members had backed Amitra in the effort to stop the attacks on their communes, it seemed only right that she should begin "To build for a better future, you must set your foundations strong…" Amitra began "As Alice Kyteler did, centuries ago, right here on this Isle". More whispers gathered in the shadows to listen "We have stood united ever since, across all faiths, all borders, all cultures…and through that unity we have persevered against impossible odds". Amitra stepped forward with a lit torch and lowered it into the bonfire. The flames slowly began to spread.

As she did, Nikki saw movement in the gathering, several other Whispers began to move forward, including Maya, and Connar's sister Kazia, on the far side. Connar touched her gently on the arm and handed her a lit torch.

Amitra continued "Kyteler called it an awakening of souls, and with each passing decade, more Sighted come into this world and by our Stone Canon, it is for us to shelter and defend them from a world that is not yet ready to understand… but tonight we remember our lost… they gave their lives so that we, and those yet to come, might live free, of the persecution of the past… nothing less than heroes… we will carry their names and their deeds so that they are never forgotten… they faced the flames, and they did not falter". The gathered Whispers all spoke in unison "We do not fear the flames". Amitra repeated "We do not fear the flames".

As Nikki stepped forward and lowered her torch into the bonfire, watching the flames spread throughout the wood, thoughts of her lost child filled her mind. She lowered her head and felt warm tears running down her cheeks. He had been born and died on the same night, never had a name, never saw the sun.

She wondered who he could have been, who she could have been had it not happened. Nikki stared into the flames and remembered not just the child she had lost but also the lives she had taken. The bonfire plumed to life, bathing the beach and the gathered Whispers with its heat and warmth. She understood its meaning now more than she ever had and quietly uttered "We do not fear the flames".

For a time, they all stood reflectively, the murmurs of conversations and long overdue greetings began from friends or distant relations who had not seen one another in years. Nikki noticed Amitra with her daughter Akansha and her granddaughter Raya, the older woman looked up and smiled at her across the distance between them and mouthed the words "thank you".

Nikki smiled and nodded back, that feeling once again welling up inside that, for the first time in her life she had truly done something good, been a part of something that was just.

Connar's sister, Kazia handed out bottles of home made Poitín that his brothers had distilled themselves, and before long Nikki heard soft gentle humming…

Nikki looked over and saw Kazia and Maya, side by side, with their arms around each other's shoulders, huddled with the brothers around them. Over the past few months Nikki had spent with the Bradens, she had seen how close they were and that Maya was considered family, and now, so was she, Maya and Kazia were especially close and would often break into song.

"Oh the summer time is coming…and the trees are sweetly blooming" Kazia began, Maya put her arm around her and joined in "and the wild mountain thyme… grows around the blooming heather…."

The Braden Brothers all joined in now "Will you go, lassie, will you go?...And we'll all go together… To pull wild mountain thyme…All around the blooming heather, will you go, lassie, go?..."

At that point, any Whispers near them who knew the song joined in and the night became warmer with their merriment "I will build my love a bower, By yon clear and crystal fountain, and all around the bower, I'll pile flowers from the mountain…"...

"I don't know what I would have become if you hadn't found me, Nikki" Connar said. They huddled close against the cold, and shared a warm, gentle kiss, she couldn't remember a time in her life when she felt this fulfilled.

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Ok, so in the next chapter we will be back in the present day, where Nikki and Connar are still in Los Angeles with Doctor Cromwell as he's looking at the Helix Shard. They are going to run into all kinds of trouble. Chapters 8 and 9 were all about introducing the Whisper Characters, so they will be cropping up again in future chapters (Episodes)

As always, let me know what you think. Also another chapter of Species: The Survivor will be dropping soon, which follows Eve, Press, Laura, Dan and Alverez... plus Sara is still hanging out with Maya.