"Come on everybody needs a health scan!" I shout out to the next troop that's been gathered. After we figured out a way to detect if anyone else might have one of these capsules in them. Our excuse for the scans was an unknown source of radiation exposure and everyone had to be cleared before resuming their duties.
Just to make it look good we had random people fail and make the buzzer alert. We'd send them to the infirmary and they'd get a wash down and the rest of the day off while we ran 'more tests'.
So far things were looking good, we'd come across no one else with a capsule in them. We had a few woman with birth control implants that set off the buzzer, but no moles so far.
"So who's not been scanned so far here?" I ask looking over the roster.
I hand it over to one of our office personal that's been scanned and clean. "Can you compile the list of names that have not been scanned yet, please. Triple check it against the names in the computers if you have to. We can't let our people get radiation poisoning if they've been exposed."
I go to check on what's left of the line and walk right into Lily Anzo.
"Oh shoot, Lily! I'm so sorry!" I quick to grab her hand to pull her up but she flinches and takes her bandaged hand close to her chest.
"It's alright Sin, it was an accident." She says getting up and picking up paperwork.
"What happened to your hand?" I ask her, feeling a tad suspicious.
"Turkaos, was in a piss mood earlier, slamming shit. He wasn't paying attention and slammed my hand in the door. He split my fingers open, he got it so good. I'm probably going to lose my finger nails to boot." She huffs and hands the paperwork over to me.
"Miss Con (mission control) asked you to look over these, it's your next deployment orders."
"Lily, come here. I need to have you scanned for radiation exposure. Everyone has to get scanned." I usher her in towards the scanner.
"What? Radiation?! How were we exposed to that?" She exclaims looking at me wild eyed.
"Not sure, but we have to check everyone for radiation. It'll buzz like crazy if it detects it." I push her forward and tell them to go ahead.
Lily stands still and is scanned.
"You're good, Anzo. Thank you. Medical wrapped your hand right?" I ask, noticing the blood starting to bleed through the white bandage.
"Yeah, and threw some stitches in it. Why?" She lifts her hand up and see's the blood. "Shit."
"Come here, I'll take a look at it."
I unwrap it and see two of her stitches busted on her index right next to the nail bed. She hisses as the air hits it and I cover it back up.
"Private, bring me the first aid kit, please."
"Sin, you don't have to do this, I'll take it back to medical..."
"Nonsense, Lily. Remember I'm a Nurse too."
I'm handed the first aid kit and I pull out the syringe and something for the pain, while I repair the stitches.
After I'm all done and send her on her way, I send a message to John.
"Lily Anzo. Eyes 24/7 "
'That was just too damn convenient and a big coincidence that it was her fingers. Damn it! Please let me be wrong!' I shake my head and we quickly scan through the rest of them out in the hall. So far no one is showing anything we should be concerned about.
Using my phone, I pull up incident reports that are supposed to be filed with the medical office. Sure enough, Lily is on the list for 'blunt force trauma to the left hand- index and middle fingers required stitches' and went on how she was put on office duty until her stitches were removed.
I head to my office and look through all the security footage, following Anzo from when she was scanned backwards and sure enough it was an accident. This puts my mind at ease, it's bad enough Suites is actually Daniel, if Lily was mole too..... I don't know how I'd handle that.
I'm finishing up on my deployment papers when I get a knock on the door.
"Enter."
"Hey Sin, Suites has not shown up for his assigned duties in the past three days, no one can seem to find the clown either. You want me to mark him AWOL?" Lily enters holding a clipboard under her arm.
"Hey Lily, yeah, ...mark him Awol for now. I do have a question though. Why don't you like Suites?" I can't seem to shake this itch in the back of my mind.
She sighs, "I know he's your friend too, but there's something about him that just rubs me wrong. He's too cocky and trying to be funny all the time, it seems like he's just putting on a show. Doesn't help, I caught him checking your ass out one day and he just shrugged it off like it was nothing! He just seems like one of those guys who everyone loves and turns out to be a real piece of shit behind closed doors. I don't know how you put up with him. "
I'm actually taken aback at her forwardness.
"Well, I didn't realize you didn't like him that much."
"Yeah I don't like him.... but why are you asking me this now? Just because I want to mark him AWOL? It's not because of that, Sin, he really is AWOL." She shakes her head, eyes wide like she's being wrongly accused.
"No, that's not it. I have noticed your lack of amiable feelings with your comments and was curious as to why. When was the last time anyone saw of Suites?"
"That's the thing, no one remembers seeing him since the battle in the Sahara. He's not on the casualties list either... " She touches the clipboard under her arm.
The blaring sound of both of our cellphones ringing and the alarms going off, stop us both in attention. Checking our phones, we exchange looks.
"SHIT." We say in unison.
Then we're up, and before she starts running, I snap us to the locker room. The locker rooms are getting filled as we sprint to finish putting on our gear and weapons so we can head for the auditorium. I leave Lily there in the auditorium, before I head straight for Thietian's office. He's already coming out of it, followed by his advisors, brothers and Turk, who looks lethal right now.
"Thietian!?" I catch his attention.
"Oh, Sin! Yes, I'm about to address everyone in a single go. I'm not up for repeating my self a million times right now. Just follow me please."
He's a pace short of jogging to the auditorium but I can understand the urgency. Once there, I notice it's filled up, standing room only and even then it's claustrophobic and sounds as if it is a giant beehive with everyone talking.
"EVERYONE QUIET DOWN!" Turk blasts his voice across the room, it goes silent instantly.
Thietian walks forward, steps in front of the podium, and turns the mic on. His eyes are clouded in thought, with his back straight and tense. Sorrow catches the corners of his mouth before his lips thin and set in determination, before he opens his mouth.
"The Erlking has added his Magical Users into his troops that are attacking heavily in South America and Europe. Our Allies are fighting back with everything they've got. This is the Erlking's hail Mary play. " He let's that sink in, letting the pause of silence prepare the room.
"He plans to kill all those who stand in his way! Enslaving the rest of you as you all are aware of now. We still have a fighting chance at this, so I'm asking you all to be brave and help out our families, our friends, neighbors, and allies fight back! Let's show the Erlking our own Hail Mary and THAT WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER AND WE WILL WIN!"
"OOHRAH! OOHRAH!" Our troops started chanting in support. Thietian waved his hands for everyone to quiet down.
"Thank you, now remember to stay close to your squad MU's and give them protective fire power while they are out there. Demon Snipers have already been sent along with air support, and every spare tank and heavy piece of fire power we have. So stay alert, and GIVE THEM HELL!"
"OOHRAH!" Everyone cried out and took off out the doors, Turk grabs my arm and pulls me to the side.
He grunts out, "Stay, Thietian wants a quick word."
Thietian sends his advisors and brothers, on their way, motioning me to follow him.
He closes the door to his office and Turk mutters something making a blue glow spread across the room.
Thietian is pacing back and forth, chewing on his fingernails as he does so.
"Thietian, stop and tell me what's going on." I watch him as his eyes look up at the ceiling.
"Sin." Cass comes to the surface. "The Erlking sent a note, a contract really, promising he'll stop the slaughter and return to me my body, if we hand over Bavarthos. He'll leave our world forever, if we can hand over his whole family."
I take a breath and blink as that sets in. "His whole family?" I question.
"The brothers, sisters, Bavarthos, the Queen and ..." He morphs back in to Thietian. "ME."
"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" I shout out, seeing that he's actually been contemplating the idea.
"I know, it doesn't even matter. We're missing one important part of the entire equation, The Queen, remember? However, turning Bavarthos over would end him slaughtering the majority of the human race."
My jaw drops, as my eyes narrow in shocked disgust. "Did I hear you correctly right now? You'd turn your brother over, who's helped you, who's your ally? OUR Ally?"
"It's one life for the billions still here!" Thietian defends his reasoning.
"He promises to end the slaughter! NOT END THE WAR! THERE'S MORE TO THAT PROMISE AND YOU KNOW IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I'M HEARING FROM YOU RIGHT NOW! WE'RE NOT HANDING YOUR BROTHER OVER TO YOUR FATHER! I'D RATHER HAND MYSELF OVER THAN BETRAY HIS HARD EARNED TRUST BY BACK STABBING HIM LIKE THAT!"
"I NEVER SAID WE'D DO IT WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE!" Thietian yells right back before taking a breath, spitting his next sentence through his gritted teeth, "We have it as a last resort though if things end up going worse than expected."
"Are you listening to yourself speak right now?" I can't believe my ears right now as I stare wide eyed at Thietian.
Something jogs in the back of my mind. It's fuzzy but I remember reading the words...'if you speak I will listen.'
Shaking my head in disbelief and disgust at him, I think of a plan and make up my mind.
"I've got to go, I don't have time for this. I have a division to lead into battle." I turn and walk out leaving Thietian and Turk behind.
.....Thietian's POV.....
"Go ahead Turk, I know you have your own men to lead right now as well. I'll be in Mission Control in a minute. I just need a minute to cool down. Collect my thoughts."
Turk grunts with a wary eye.
"Alright Prince Thietian, we will follow your command no matter what the end result is." Turk leaves shutting the door behind him.
'That didn't go over well. I hate to say I told you so, Thietian.'
"Yes, I know, Cass. Like I said, it was merely a worst case scenario to ask him to sacrifice himself."
'Are you sure about that? You've been blocking me from your thoughts and some of the war meetings. What are you keeping me in the dark about?'
"I'm not allowed to have my own thoughts anymore? Not everything at those war meetings are necessary for you to hear, I doubt you want to hear some of the mutilations that have happened to our men. Cass, I'm sorry but I need some time to think clearly, this is bad enough with just my thoughts."
'Sure, whatever Thietian..'
I block my mental link with Cass and walk over to the desk. Unlocking the drawer with my magic, I pull out the contract that my father sent.
-Thietian,
For being half the Fae you once were, I will give you the credit of giving me something interesting to spend my time doing again. For this, I offer you some options. If you return Bavarthos, I'll give you back your body, and quit with the slaughtering of these humans you all seem to be infatuated with. I've been told your human harlot had a baby.... that's all human. I'll let you have them, unharmed and alive as well.
Now, if you hand over your brothers and sisters, plus your lovely mother, whom I miss beyond words, I will leave the entire human world of earth alone. No more slaughter and enslavement, we could all just be one big happy family again...
The choice is yours.... and you know why, you are even here to begin with.
Don't disappoint me.
D. F. -
Heat washes over me. Thump-thump, thump-thump, the beat of this bodies heart is in my ears as guilt, shame, and rage start to take over. Crumpling the contract in between my hands I roar as I throw the paper into the fireplace.
'Yes, I know why I am here.'