Gerald pushed the doors open and walked into a large, cavernous room. A hundred cots lined the west wall. A gym was set up in a corner. Tables and chairs were arranged in another, next to a window that connected to a kitchen. There was makeshift library as well as a basketball court. The center of the room was left empty.
Gerald imagined that the new recruits spent most of their time in this room. He saw that some men and women were resting on their beds while others were taking advantage of the remaining facilities.
A few people spotted Gerald as he entered. Then a few more noticed him and stopped what they were doing.
Gerald didn't pay them any mind while he slowly walked to the center of the room while looking things over.
"Hey you, I think you are in the wrong place." Said a large brawny man who got off his bed. When he spoke, the chatter in the room ceased. The man began to walk at a quick pace towards Gerald. "Desk jockeys are supposed to remain upstairs." He said.
Gerald looked down at himself. He wasn't suited up like he was for his date. Today he was wearing cheap slacks with a pair of comfortable loafers. On his chest he wore a comfy sweater that Amy had picked out for him. He saw that all the new recruits were wearing standard issue military fatigues. Much like everyone else he saw once he reached the lower level.
"Nah, I think I am in the right place." Gerald said.
"Hmmf, what is your name, who are you?" The man asked in a condescending tone.
*Clang*
A loud sound echoed through out the room. A bench press bar that was stacked to the limit and bending from the weight on each side was set on the rack. A familiar face sat up from the bench.
When he stood and began walking to the center of the room, the trainees saluted.
"At ease." He said as he approached Gerald. "Long time no see."
"Unfortunately, that isn't the case." Gerald remarked.
The man chuckled before he turned to the soldiers. "Listen up! This man is Mr. Acers, a consultant we called in to help with your training. Until you take your assessment, you must obey everyone of his orders. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Colonel Alpha." The men and women yelled out in unison.
"Good."
"What exactly am I supposed to do?" Gerald asked.
"Do whatever you want. Beat them all up to hone your skill and call it training for all I care. That is what I do."
"That is why Charlie doesn't want you training them anymore." Said a man who appeared by Gerald's side. "Mr. Acers." He said while giving Gerald a polite nod.
"Bravo." Gerald responded.
"Feel free to look around our facilities. Your I.D. will grant you access pretty much anywhere. We have top of the line firing ranges, mock urban environments, driving/pursuit tracks. Anything you might think of we are probably prepared for it. Our people need to be prepared for everything. It is impossible to predict what skills we might need for our next mission."
Gerald frowned. "At least give me something to go on. What sort of targets are you against in your missions?"
Bravo thought about it for a moment, and then pulled out the phone he received from Dasher after their mission. He tapped a few times and then sent an attachment to Gerald. He guessed that Bravo didn't want to speak about it in front of the trainees. They weren't technically part of the Calamity Unit yet. Neither was Gerald, but Bravo didn't concern himself with that. He was sure that Gerald had seen far more than any of them.
Hundreds of case files appeared in Gerald's inbox.
Then Bravo spoke and corrected Gerald's previous train of thought. "These soldiers are aware of what they will face after they enter our unit, but these case files are classified. Make sure you don't share their contents."
Gerald nodded in understanding. He then glanced through the bullet points of a few cases. He was a bit surprised. Apparently, the most common thing the unit dealt with was magic users. Mages, wizards, warlocks, shamans, spell-swords and so on. Gerald always knew that there were magic ley-lines running through this world. He had accessed them himself. He never realized that so many other people were practiced in accessing them. It seemed as if there was a rather advanced hidden society that lived among the ordinary people. And there happened to be a major hub in the city he lived in. It was no wonder that the Calamity Unit was based just outside of the city.
"Alright. I get the gist of it." Gerald said, putting away his phone.
"Just a bit of advice." Bravo said. "Most of these men and women have served tours overseas in combat zones. You may need to assert your dominance or convince them. It will make things easier." Bravo then looked Gerald over. "You don't exactly look like a spook from Central, like the last time we saw you."
"Well pardon me. I was at home enjoying a delightful breakfast when I was rudely interrupted."
"I know that this problem is our mess. I am just trying to make things easier for you." Bravo said.
Gerald nodded. "It sounds like Alpha has demonstrated his strength. I am guessing that Charlie showed off her stealth. Did you reveal your little trick?"
"You knew…"
"Just because you don't use it, doesn't mean I can't see."
"Yes, in fact I did demonstrate as well." Bravo replied. "So you don't have to worry about breaking their minds if you show them something that shouldn't be possible."
"Alright. I guess I will figure something out. Oh and you aren't expecting me to teach anyone magic are you? That is a very time consuming task."
"You don't have to worry about that. Our unit has done a lot of research and only one out of ten millions people are able to learn magic unless they are born from magical parents. We don't put any hope in that."
'Well then you may be surprised that three out of these one hundred have the potential. And a fourth is already quite competent in magic. Well, by your standards that is.' This time Gerald spoke directly into Bravo's mind.
The man who was beginning to walk away. Stopped on the spot and quickly turned around.
"What did you say?"
"Do you need me to repeat it?"
Bravo then went to Alpha and whispered in his ear. Alpha nodded and left the room. After he exited, there was an extremely soft sound of a lock being clicked. Unbeknownst to the recruits the room was sealed at all exit points and an alarm started to ring through the facility.
When the trainees heard the alarm, the ran towards the lockers with their gear. But they quickly found out that their passcodes didn't work.
"What's going on?"
"What's happening?"
They started to question what was going on. The group of highly talented individuals didn't descend into a panic. They remained composed while they sought answers.
"Silence!" Bravo yelled. "Fall in line!"
The group of one hundred people quickly formed rows and columns as they stood at attention.
Bravo then looked towards Gerald who only nodded. Bravo felt more assured. "When you applied to this unit. You were instructed to disclose any extraordinary abilities that you might possess. It has come to our attention that this instruction was not followed." Bravo said as he passed in front of the group.
He then stopped in front of a woman and stared into her eyes.
"Colonel, Sir, I swear I disclosed everything. I-."
"I know." Gerald said as he turned and kept walking through the group.
He then stopped in front of a man with a thick beard and stared. The man didn't say anything at all and only stared back, unblinking.
Bravo moved further through the lines. Before stopping in front of a man with a large scar running down his face.
"Sir, if I had abilities, you can trust me that I would have returned from overseas with my squad instead of escorting their coffins." Bravo nodded and walked to an ordinary looking young man who was on the small side.
"Sir, I didn't -."
*Wham*
Bravo struck out with his fist. He struck before the young man could react and the solider was punched hard in the stomach and back peddled after receiving the blow. While Bravo remained motionless, a phantom like figure, identical to bravo and semi-transparent, flashed forward and swung a wide kick to the young man's side.
*Bam*
The young soldier was launched out of the group of people. After the phantom struck it dissipated as Bravo stepped out of the group and looked at the young man that was spitting up blood while holding his side.
"Why? Colonel, what have I done wrong? I didn't hide anything. You even tested me yourself. Why are you doing this to me?" The young man wheezed while continuing to cough up blood. "If you are doing this to make an example out of someone. At least make sure that I am guilty. I will take any test you want. I haven't hid anything."
"Enough." Gerald said. He then waved his hand.
The small mole that was on the young man's cheek, shattered like a piece of glass. The young man stopped coughing and stood up with hate in his eyes. His flesh began to squirm and reform. His originally appearance revealed itself. He was an old man who was of skin and bone with a long white beard.
"You…" He turned towards Gerald. "You would betray your own kind for the sake of these ants." He then turned back towards Bravo and the others. "You filthy, lowly creatures. You killed my son just because he culled a few dozen families for an experiment. You didn't have to right to harm him. How dare you touch my flesh and blood. You will all pay. I will not forgive any of you base beings." He then turned back to Gerald. "And you… you dare to side with these mundane existences and go against your own kind? You are even worse than them. You will die first."
The old man's hands flickered as he conjured symbols faster than regular eyes could behold. An oppressive aura radiated from the mad magic caster while the trainees who were without gear or weapons, quickly backed off. Mana in the air began to solidify and come into a physical form. The man placed his hands together and then ripped them apart.
*Crackle* *Crackle* *Crackle*
The old man held a surging bolt of lightning between his two palms. The new recruits held up their hands to block the blinding light.
"Now DIE!" He gripped the bolt and then hurled it towards Gerald. The bolt of lightning moved so fast that the recruits couldn't even see it fly. "What! How… How is this possible."
The recruits looked to see that Gerald had a single hand raised and the lightning bolt had stopped, inches in front of him.
"Hmpf. In my eyes, you are just as average as them. You… are… nothing… special." He slowly said.
"No, this can't be. I am a Tower master. I have studied magic for over a hundred years. I have perfected that spell. You… You... You… shouldn't be able to manipulate it."
"You… are still to inexperienced." Gerald said.
*Snap*
He snapped his finger and the lightning bolt multiplied. In an instant over fifty bolts hung in the air before Gerald. Then he waved his hands forward.
"NOOOOOO!!!!!!"
*Crash* *Boom* *Crackle*
The bolts flew simultaneously towards their target. A blinding light flashed as the ground shook for a moment. When the smoke cleared. All that remained was a charred corpse on the floor.
"Let this be a lesson." Bravo said. "The enemies of humanity hide in plain sight. You have all seen how they look down on us. They feel that it is an honor for us to be used by them. Like in all societies, there is a spectrum of beliefs. Not all those with magic feel this way, but we prepare for the worst. The things we face will be outside of your expectations. Okay enough of that. It is time to begin your training with Mr. Acers. For your sake, I hope you don't slack off. If he gets bored, he may train you like Alpha does. Work hard and don't give him a reason." He said with a devilish smile while heading towards the exit.
Gerald felt his phone vibrate. He pulled out and checked the text he just received from Bravo.
{Keep your eyes open while in the base. Alert me if you see anyone with advanced magic. We do have some capable people who work for us, but I don't want any surprises hiding in our ranks.}
Gerald put away his phone and looked to the new recruits who were now looking at him with reverence and fear.