[C-class mission successfully passed]
[Operative Gerald Acers being restored to home world]
[Please hold for after mission debrief and rewards]
[Actualization in progress. Operatives consciousness has been returned to originally body]
Gerald found himself standing in a white space with limitless boundaries. A moment after he appeared, Dasher appeared next to him.
[C-class mission completed with 100% removal. All foreign invaders removed.]
[Pass rate: S+]
[Notes for improvement: Keep up the good work. The doppelgangers existence was never realized to the local population. His influence was kept to a minimum and resulted in a positive impact in regard to the human population. 17 years after his death, the last remnants of the Cult of Thomas were eliminated.]
[Rewards for C-class mission with S+ ranking: 6 points for senior operative and 5 points to standard operative]
[Operative Dasher has been promoted to C-Class operative]
[Please select rewards]
[Rewards available for purchase are the skills and talents equipped for the mission along with the items used. Also available are skills, talents and abilities of the target.]
Gerald spent five points to take one of the abilities of the doppelganger. He could hold his hand to someone's head and look into their memories. He could have spent six points and taken the body swamping ability but chose not to. It would have interested him more if he could do it without killing the target. His last point was spent on a tracking device made by the Cult of Thomas. It wasn't anything special, but it tracked people in a way that was completely different than modern day technology. Maybe it would come in handy one day.
Dasher spent a point to take home the medal he earned. He used two points to retrieve the car he had used for the last ten years. He used a point to buy a four pack of recruitment patches and passed them to Gerald. His last point was used to bring back a photo of him and his deputies that was taken the day he retired. This past mission had given him a lot of memories. Most of them were good and he wasn't in a hurry to forget them.
After selecting their rewards, they returned back to Dasher's place.
"Did you enjoy your vacation?" Gerald asked.
"Wasn't bad. I did learn something." Dasher answered.
"Oh yeah, what was that?"
"I am not cut out for retirement. I need to do something, even if it isn't working for the military."
Does that mean you are going to move out to some small town and play Sheriff?"
"Ha, ha, I think I have had enough of that. I will figure something out." Dasher said while he set his medal and the photo on a shelf in his office. "Come on, I will give you a ride back to your place." He said while taking the set of keys from his desk.
"Nice ride." Gerald said when he got to Dashers garage. The car looked straight out of the fifties, but it had a hint of modern-day design.
"It's served me well for a long time. After the train station was repaired in Brokenfall, the refinery was upgraded in the city. They began to ship fuel over the rails, and it let more people in small towns have access to cars. Doesn't do any good when you need to trek the hills to get to a ranch, but it does well for driving around town." Dasher said as he got in and started the car up.
Gerald looked at his watch when he got back to his building. He still had a little bit of time before he needed to be at the military base. He decided to go up and see Amy before he left.
What he didn't expect was to find that she was packing her things when he opened the door.
"What's going on?"
"Ah, your back. Good, I was just about to call you."
"What's going on?"
"I need to head back to the main office. I think someone is doing something they aren't supposed to be doing."
"What do you mean?"
"You told me that you own the copyrights to every one of your stories, right? You didn't sell even one, right?"
"Yeah. Why?" Gerald asked.
"I heard some rumors that a movie is being filmed. And it's being based off of one of your stories."
"How can that be? No one has contacted me?"
"That is what is troubling." Amy said. "No one has contacted me either. I need to go back to headquarters to make sure nobody did anything stupid. They shouldn't be able to approve anything without going through me first. I want to dig deeper. First to make sure that my company has nothing to do with it, and then to find out exactly what is going on. This means I have to cut my stay short."
"That's too bad." Gerald said.
"Don't pout, I will be back after I clean this up."
"Do you need a ride to the airport?"
"Don't worry about it. I already scheduled a car." She then checked her phone. "Don't you need to head to your training class thing?"
"I have about twenty minutes before I need to leave."
"Good, then send me off properly." She said while unbuttoning her blouse and wiggling out of her pants.
***
Gerald reviewed the tapes of the physical training the recruits had submitted. He now had a pretty good idea of their standard.
With Amy now out of town, he no longer saw a reason to commute back and forth every day. He decided to stay at the base for the time being. He put the recruits through all sorts of training to sharpen their skills. When he wasn't training, he sat in front of his laptop and typed up his latest story.
Gerald had always kept slightly irregular hours. The recruits were now paying for it. Sometimes he would start training at one in the morning, only an hour or two after they got to sleep. Sometimes he would have them train for over twenty hours at a time.
He still wasn't really sure what sort of training he could provided that the military couldn't, so he identified their areas of weakness and had them spend some time on that. He also identified their strengths and gave them tips on how to take their abilities to the next level. Other than that, he spoke about certain situations his 'Characters' had been in. He then asked the recruits, what sort of choices they would make. Then they would discuss the pros and cons of those choices together. And any time the recruits were feeling cocky about their skills, Gerald would put them in their place.
Other than that, he didn't know what else to do.
Soon, the day of their assessment came and passed. They were put through rigorous test to assess their abilities. In the end, eighty-five recruits passed the assessment. Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie were thrilled with the results. They had kept an eye on the recruits during Gerald's training and they were quite pleased.
The fourteen that didn't pass were disappointed, but they weren't too upset. They had known all along that they were the most lacking from the group. And it wasn't like they were being sent home. They would be transferred to special operations.
Their results were good, but not good enough. They were still top-notch soldiers. They would be sent to other teams and in the future, there was a good chance that they would lead their own teams. Even though they wouldn't be combating those bizarre threats, they still had knowledge of them. It would be a boon to any team who received one of the recruits that didn't pass.
Besides, most of them were happy with the arrangement. They would rather be the head of a chicken then the tail of phoenix.
Eighty-five recruits stood in front of Gerald and the three Colonels. They stood at attention and waited.
A moment later, a man in a suit walked into the training room followed by a military escort. The man was tapping on his phone while talking on a Bluetooth device. He arrived in front of everyone. They stood in silence as they waited for the man to finish his phone call.
He eventually hung up and then turned towards the recruits.
"Hello. I am Hank Addison, one of the aids to the Secretary of Defense. Sec. Def. is pleased to hear that so many of you managed to pass your assessments. I am happy to be able to welcome you to the Calamity Unit on his behalf. The paperwork will need to be filled and processed. After that you will receive your orders from Col. Alpha, Bravo, And Charlie." He said to the unmoving recruits. "Good work. We look forward to seeing what you will be capable of in the future. You all are dismissed. Clear the room."
The recruits then looked to the Colonels. The aide wasn't actually part of the military. He had no business ordering them about and wasn't capable of dismissing them.
"Dismissed. Report for your new assignments at 0500 tomorrow. Enjoy yourselves tonight, but don't leave base. Tomorrow, the real work starts." Charlie said.
With that, the recruits saluted and then quickly left the training site and scurried away to enjoy a bit of free time.
The aide then walked to the four people who stood at the front of the room while his military escort stayed by the door. He walked past Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie before he stopped in front of Gerald.
Gerald remained relaxed and idly looked over the man who reeked of politician.
Apparently, the aide didn't like his lackadaisical look and attitude. He frowned.
"You must be Gerald Acers."
"Mmm, that's me."
"Hmpf, shouldn't you be saluting your superiors?" The aide asked.
Gerald looked towards the three others beside him with a confused expression.
"You will answer me when I speak to you. Do you understand?"
"Why?" Gerald asked.
"What! Are you being insubordinate? Who the hell do you think you are?" The aide said with a raised voice.
"No, why would I salute you? You are not a member of the military and neither am I. I don't know about you, but I am not in the habit of impersonating a military officer." Gerald said with a confused expression.
"You-." The aide said with a fuming expression.
Bravo and Charlie managed to keep a straight face. But Alpha was struggling to contain his laughter.
The aide turned towards the large man.
"Something funny?" He asked.
Alpha stood straight and tall and replied quickly. "Sir, no sir." He replied loud and proud like a new recruit reporting to his commanding officer.
After that Charlie barely managed to restrain her own laughter.
"You three. Get the hell out of here. I need to speak to Mr. Acers privately."
The three left quickly. While the aide, Hank Addison wasn't their superior. He reported to the Secretary of Defense, who was their boss's boss.
The aide pulled a file folder out from under his arm and began to flip through it while standing in front of Gerald.
"Gerald." He said while looking down his nose towards the man. "You have a problem, and I have been sent here to investigate it."
"Oh yeah? What problem might that be Hank?"
"Mphf. It is Mr. Addison."
"Oh."
"You-."
"If you could get to the point, I have plans this evening."
"Fine, you want to play it like that. Sure. According to my information. You collected a paycheck from the Calamity Unit without doing any work."
"Oh."
"Any thing to say for yourself?" The aide asked while feeling cocky.
"How about 85% pass rate."
The aide smirked. "Don't give me that shit, I know you have only been working here for a week, but you have been on the books much longer than that." He then waved the folder in front of Gerald's face. "A lot of information has been collected about you. What exactly are you playing at? Who did you bribe to get protection from the Calamity unit? Keep playing games and I will make a call to the National Security Agency and get them to comb through everything in your life. I will turn your world upside down. We already know that you are way too capable to be an ordinary civilian. The fact that you got this job is enough to prove that. Then there are also the numerous 'self defense' deaths that have been swept under the rug for you."
"…"
"What? Nothing to say for yourself? Cat got your tongue?"
"Umm, no. It's just I didn't expect you to threaten to go to my mother. It… it really makes you seem weak. Like a little child on the paly ground."
"You-."
"Is that like your catchphrase or something?" Gerald asked. "Or did that packet of information not inform you that my mother is the Director of the NSA?"
Gerald could see surprise in the man's eyes.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Sure. Go tattle to my mommy. I won't stop you, but just a word of advice. She can be pretty strict. If you want to launch an investigation into me, I suggest you approach her with more than a shity four thousand dollars paycheck. I mean seriously. So many people passed the assessment and I only get four grand a month. You know… this job isn't worth it. Consider this my resignation."
Gerald said before turning and walking towards the door.
"You… Stop right there."
Gerald ignored him and kept walking.
"Don't let him leave this room!" Hank Addison yelled.
His military escort blocked the door. Gerald frowned and turned back to the aide who seemed to enjoy flaunting his position.
"Do you think that your getting paid for not working is the only thing I have?" The aide said with a grin. "We have cameras in the recruits living quarters. We know that you have abilities, and they were not disclosed in your paperwork when you were hired here. That is considered lying to the national government. Didn't you yourself deal with a recruit who falsified his papers. Shall you experience the same thing?"
Gerald turned and walked back towards the aide. "Are you threatening to kill me right now? Because let me remind you, that it isn't only myself locked in this room with you. You are locked in here with me. Are you capable enough to stop me if I want to leave? Or if I wanted you dead?"
"You-."
"You, you, you. Is that all you can say? I never wanted this fucking job. My paperwork was processed without my knowledge. I came and helped out because I thought it would be the easiest way to deal with it. Now you want to come here and give me a hard time and threaten me?"
"That's enough!" Said and authoritative voice after a tall man entered the room.