[center][h1][color=fff200]Farewell and Starting the Next Chapter[/color][/h1][/center] [center][h2][color=ec008c]Samantha "Chaos" Dalton[/color][/h2] [/center] [center][h2][color=8dc73f]Chuck "Boomer" Simmons[/color][/h2] [/center] [hr] Samantha had come back to Earth in the escape pod with Ebrima and Eloise. As soon as her communications connected she had contacted Mission Control to let them know that Ark Angel had been destroyed and that Freya and Athena were forced to build their own escape pod. She had no idea where it would land but it would absolutely show up on radar. They needed to begin searching for their pod and initiate immediate rescue. They needed to get to them quickly if they were to survive against all odds. Samantha had no idea if their pod would survive on impact or if they landed in water. Samantha had hijacked the communications of the team that had been sent to pick them up. Samantha used the communications and the hacked telemetry feed from Bob to the teams on the ground. Samantha calculated the pod’s course. [color=ec008c]“They are going to come down somewhere in this part of Sweden.”[/color] Samantha didn’t waste words as she turned to the QRF team that was responsible for recovering them and demanded transportation to Sweden. They needed to get to their team, they were close enough to get there quickly by aircraft. Samantha used her authority and know how to cut through the red tape to get what she wanted. She had given Adam the broad strokes of what went down. She confirmed that Sol Hestia was on the escape pod that had been sent into the sun. The Ark Angel Station was incapable of sustaining orbit and was breaking up. Queen had been killed by Rose in action during the mission. She informed Adam that many of the team had some injuries with Ebrima having a broken arm. Adam helped her pull rank on the QRF force so that she could find and retrieve Athena and Freya. Samantha stayed on edge until she had connected with the missing members of her team. She had hugged both of the giantesses. She then let the QRF dictate the terms and transport back to base. Samantha was sure it would be quick because Oracle was already chomping at the bit for his debrief. He had been constantly breaking into her communications and interrupting her as she tried to take care of the team first. She had gotten a quick update on the rest of the team from Adam. Ban had been injured and had already been patched up by Sophie. Chuck was in emergency surgery and Sophie was on her way to supervise. Samantha wanted to be at the hospital but Oracle insisted she return to the base to debrief first. Samantha had lost a great deal of respect for Oracle. She still believed in Raven’s mission and the need for the team. She understood the politics at play but she felt Raven should be above that. It was issues like the ones they faced with Zhao and the PLA that caused some of the situations they had to resolve. [i] How could they trust Raven to continue its mission if even they had to bend to global politics? Yes they got intel from Zhao. So he gets to live yet he wanted to kill Skye who had proven her loyalty to protect his secrets. Why was Zhao still breathing if they had gotten all the intel they could from him?[/i] She felt as if Oracle had compromised his ethics. That made her distrust him. She could work with him but it would be on her terms. She had told him after the debrief was over that she was taking some time off. She told him point blank that she would contact him if and when she was ready to talk to him again. Her anger still burned hot just as her grief over losing a dear friend burned a hole in her heart. She had been relieved to learn that Chuck and the remainder of the team would make a full recovery, even the grumpy Cameroonian. Samantha disappeared off everyone’s radar. She wanted some privacy while she decided her next steps. Samantha was hard to track and a ghost if she wanted to be. She had left the base and instead of flying out she had driven. She had stopped just outside of Finland at a small hotel. She checked in and stayed the night. The next day she used electronic check out and left the vehicle in the parking lot. Samantha had turned off her phone and put in a small faraday cage to prevent any tampering or signals from it. Samantha had changed her appearance to that of an older woman with a cane. Samantha looked every inch a sophisticated older lady. She was wearing a long sweeping dress in a dusty pink with a white cardigan. She was wearing a high quality real hair wig that was salt and pepper with the hair pulled back into a low bun with wisps framing her face with pearl earrings and a pearl necklace that topped off the conservative look. She had on stylish silver framed eyeglasses with a delicate chain attached to catch them and keep her from losing them. She was wearing comfortable orthotic style shoes that managed some sense of style in a maryjane look. She was traveling with one bag that carried her laptop, a few clothes, some make up, and other odds and ends. It looked like an oversized lady’s purse in white leather that was high quality and designer. She had then boarded a train to Estonia where she had purchased an airline ticket under an alias name. Instead of hacking airport and train station security cameras, Samantha used all her tradecraft to hide her appearance and disappear. She used foam prosthetics, makeup, eyeglasses, and wigs to change the shape of her face and silhouette to make it harder for facial recognition to track her and find her. She traveled as an older woman using a cane and hunching over to hide her height. She used an alias she had set up with full documentation with a real ID that she had never used before. It was one she set up on her own. The CIA, Raven, or the US Government had no idea about it. It was not on her previously used aliases list. She had a handful of alternative aliases just like this one that no one knew anything about. Samantha had sadly learned her paranoia after investigating her father’s death was deserved. People might not be out to kill her but she knew there were parties interested in tracking her whereabouts. They wanted to know where she was and what she was doing. [hr] [h1]Los Angeles, California, United States[/h1] Samantha flew home. She felt a burning need to check in on her grandmother. Samantha felt the need to connect with this last person who knew her past. Who had been there through her struggles and trials. She felt the need to share all the love and everything she had kept bottled up and separate. Samantha had to admit that losing her mother the way she had made it difficult for her to open up to other people. Losing her father the way she did seemed to reinforce that trauma that everyone she loved would be taken away from her. Skye and Freya had taught her that she could confide in the right people and let the right people. Then Skye had been killed on the mission. This triggered that trauma all over again. It was one of the reasons she was so careful coming home again. She didn’t want anyone interested in tracking her to know about her adopted grandmother. The visit had soothed the depth of pain she felt over losing Skye. Her grandmother seemed to know just what she needed to begin healing. She had slept for almost 12 hours before waking up ravenously hungry. She had then spent some time catching up with her grandmother. She told her everything that she couldn’t before. She didn’t care about operational security. She knew her grandmother was a vault. Her grandmother had been surprisingly stoic about the whole thing. She had told Samantha that she didn’t care about the details that she trusted her to do what was right. She had assured her that she would always be there for her even after she passed away. She told her grandmother about the near death experience and passed on the messages from their loved ones. They had cried together. Then they held their own ceremony at the family shrine inside her grandmother’s apartment. They had prayed and lit candles and incense over the photos of their loved ones. Samantha cried as she added a photo of Skye to the shrine. Her grandmother had held her hand and nodded her head in approval. Samantha spent a month at home. She didn’t rush into any decisions. She practiced in the dojo and meditated. She tinkered in her garage. She took her bike out for a run through the city. She spent some time at the beach looking out at the ocean pondering where the world would take her next. [hr] [h1] Tokyo, Japan [/h1] She had finally turned her phone back on after going through it with a fine tooth comb and changing the signal encryption to one that moderated and changed every few seconds. She did her best to make the signal untraceable. Her phone blew up with messages from the team. The smile on her face was big and bright and the first in a while. She smiled as she saw happy videos from Freya and Chuck that included Duke antics.Chuck included updates on his recovery. There were videos and messages from Athena which included Eloise on a beach somewhere. Athena looked happy. Samantha smiled and examined how she was feeling. She missed the team. She missed being around them. She finally checked her work email to see what had come in that she had purposely ignored. She noticed that Imran had reached out in a few emails wanting to know where she was and how he could contact her. She flipped past those emails for now. There were the typical pleas and bids from governments and large corporations seeking her time and talents for their projects. She sorted through them but found she was struggling to stay motivated. None of it interested her. She thought of Ban, one of her newest friends. She wanted to do something more for him. He had gone out of his way to help Skye and the team. She wanted to do something that would help him out. Samantha locked herself away with her laptop. She began pulling up all the stored data she had in her databases about the criminal underworld in Japan. She hacked into the Japanese law enforcement databases easily. She pulled dossiers and got an overview of what was happening there. Ban’s family might be involved in criminal activity but he was an honorable man. She would rather have an honorable family that would keep the others in check to prevent the worst atrocities from happening. When the powerful were taken down there were always more willing to step into their place and some of them were even worse. She decided to set up Ban and his family as the new criminal underground overlords. She put on her black hat and happily gathered information and set things in motion for him. Samantha flew to Japan and used her trade craft to gather blackmail material on all his enemies. She put together a comprehensive plan with the information he would need to take down each of his rivals. She compiled dossiers and evidence on all of them. She gave him the details of how they ran their businesses and what they were into. She gave him the details on all their operations. She then hacked into what they thought were their secured and personal accounts. She took most of his enemies' assets. She left enough for them to survive but it took away the excess that catered to their depravity and extravagant lifestyles. She transferred all the money into multiple accounts bouncing it all around the world. Samantha donated some of it. She kept some of it. She set up retirement accounts for the entire team. They were modest retirement accounts with 2 million each. She set up a private secured account for Ban that held half of what she took from his enemies so he could use it to restore the honor of his clan. She viewed her actions as reallocating funds and ensuring a peaceful turnover in the criminal underworld in Japan. Well there might be some violence but with their economic assets pulled and the operations infiltrated and secrets known, Samantha had pulled their fangs and handed them to Ban. She would eventually get around to letting everyone know about the secret accounts. She then contacted Ban with an invitation to have dinner with her. Samantha arranged for a private dining room in an upscale award winning sushi restaurant. She knew Ban would appreciate excellent food. She enjoyed dinner before surprising him with a very elegant leather briefcase with his family’s insignia embossed on the side. It had a custom bio lock that was keyed to Ban’s DNA. Inside was hardcopy dossiers on his competition with all the information Ban would need to take down his enemies or black mail them into doing his bidding. There was also a secured encrypted hard drive with detailed accounting information, photographs, videos, and more. There was information on how to access the secured account and the balance for Ban as well. Samantha told Ban she only had one condition. No human trafficking. It was one thing if a woman chose prostitution for herself. But no one should be forced into that life including children. She knew some of Ban’s enemies included human trafficking in their business model. She had smiled and told him to call her if he ever needed anything. She hugged him and left. [hr] [h1] Colorado, United States[/h1] She was surprised to see a text message from Adam asking her to meet him in Colorado with Chuck. Samantha contacted Chuck and asked him to join her for the meeting in Colorado. Chuck had been surprised when Samantha contacted him with her request to meet her and Adam in Colorado. He had made the trip and laughed when the rental car company tried to rent them an economy size car. Chuck had waited with the luggage while Samantha went inside to rent the car. When he walked in pulling their luggage behind them and asked Samantha what the hold up was. He could see the humor dancing in her eyes as she pointed to what he assumed was an unhelpful rental car agent. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “He is trying to convince me that they only have economy size cars and anything else would be too expensive. That I would do fine with a small car.” [/color] Samantha was watching the guy’s face go pale as Chuck raised an eyebrow and simply glared at the guy as he asked the man. [color=8dc73f]Chuck: “Do I look like I would fit inside an economy car? Besides that fact, the lady didn’t ask for economy. I know for a fact that she asked you for a full size sedan or pickup truck. So what is your problem?” [/color] The salesman gulped and swallowed hard before he gave Sam a weak smile and replied. [color=fff200]“My apologies for the misunderstanding. I will get that for you right away.” [/color] Chuck shook his head thinking the guy was an idiot. The clueless salesman had no idea that Samantha was way more dangerous than him. Sure Chuck could probably flick his ear and take it off with his strength. But Samantha could hurt him physically just as easy and faster and then get creative with ways to torture him. Chuck had a healthy respect for Sam’s skills and her creativity. The guy didn’t know he had dodged a bullet. They were finally on their way after the rental clerk gave them the keys to a full size pick up truck so Chuck would fit in the rental vehicle. He had the driver’s seat pushed back as far as it would go. Samantha didn’t mind him driving. She chuckled as his head barely cleared the ceiling of the extended cab truck. He might need a helmet, a good pothole and he would be bonking his head. They had met with Adam who turned over intel on who had betrayed Chuck’s unit. Adam hinted that the same people were responsible for the terrorist attack that had killed her father in Los Angeles. Samantha was somewhat stunned. She had not expected anything like that from Adam. Adam basically told her that Raven still wanted her and that she was right not to trust anyone. But he also pointed out that she still had family with Raven if she wanted it. Samantha thanked Adam and returned his hug. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “Thank you Adam. I will stay in touch. I appreciate this intel. I need a little time before I am ready to talk to Oracle. I am not sure I want to continue full time. I have some things I need to do before I have that talk with him.” [/color] Adam seemed to understand and left them as fast as he had showed up. Samantha and Chuck had checked into a large hotel under aliases. They met in Samantha’s room as she started going through the intel. Samantha verified the data and started following the data to new connections and laid it all out for Chuck. Samantha pulled up pictures on her laptop as she built the dossier on who they were up against. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “Do you recognize this man?” [/color] [color=8dc73f]Chuck: “Yes that is my former commanding officer Major James Butler.” [/color] Samantha brought up another picture that was obviously a reconnaissance photo showing the Major with another man.” Samantha asked again. [color=ec008c]“Do you recognize this man?" [/color] Chuck’s brow furrowed as he tried to place the man. He didn’t know the man’s name but he was trained to notice details. He had seen that man’s face before. Then it clicked for him. His eyes widened a little as he responded. [color=8dc73f]“I remember seeing him in Kandahar speaking with a group of security contractors that my team didn’t trust. There had been questionable actions that they always seemed to have an excuse for.” [/color] Samantha smiled as puzzle pieces started clicking together for her. Samantha pulled up another photo that showed a younger version of Major Butler with a handsome man in a university sweatshirt. The two men were standing with beers in their hands at what looked like a frat party. Samantha smiled and put the pictures up next to each other as she began to explain. [color=ec008c]“From the information Adam gave me and the digging I did based on that, I think I know what happened. James Butler went to college before enlisting. He went to Duke University where he met and was friends with future senator Bradley Shephard and owner of Black Diamond Security Morgan Kingsley. The very same company your unit tangled with in the middle east. Black Diamond Private Security Contractors were on contracts from the USA. Senator Shephard is on the Armed Services Committee. All three of them are listed as members of the Lambda Phi Epsilon Fraternity with Shephard listed as the president of the fraternity during their tenure at Duke University. I kept digging and there Butler got a big promotion in rank with a letter of recommendation from Congressman Butler three years after graduation. Shephard was instrumental and argued in favor of Black Diamond Security’s bid for security work in the Middle East being accepted. That approval and acceptance was rammed through the Armed Forces Committee that is currently being chaired by Senator Butler.” [/color] Samantha waited while Chuck processed all that information. Samantha’s look turned feral as she pulled up pictures of Senator Shephard and Pavrel Andros together. She pulled numerous journal articles where Shephard was connected to some of Andros’ work and vice versa. [color=ec008c]“They were all working together. I found the bank accounts. Shephard and Andros called the shots with Kingsley and Butler getting paid for services rendered. Shephard was a greedy bastard and it was all about the money and power trip from what I can find. Andros as we know had ties to Artemis. You know before Artemis trusted him with their secrets he had to do stuff for them to prove he was worthy to ally with them. Butler connects to this backwoods militant militia group of home grown terrorists. The types who want to make America white and enslave people of color once more. They want to shove their doctrine down everyone’s throat and reinvent America but in their image. They have some radical beliefs, Christianity should be the only allowable religion. They want to deport anyone who looks Latino or Mexican back to Mexico. They feel the government no longer works and is too liberal. So they want to hand pick who sits in congress and in the White House. In order to fund their activities, they provided the weapons for the terrorists who attacked Los Angeles. They used the money to fund their training camp.” [/color] Samantha finally had some answers. The reason her investigation had been shut down into the attack was because Senator Shephard had been tied to the group that had sold the cell the weapons. That was the missing piece and who had shut down the investigation. Sam waited to hear Chuck’s thoughts. Chuck was struggling with the emotion he was feeling. All his men’s lives and it was all over money. He could almost have respected a terrorist who thought they were fighting for some kind of right or justice. But to know they died over money. It made Chuck furious. The men and women of his unit had suffered and bled and died to protect their country while its leaders were selling them to the highest bidder to line their pockets. Chuck stood up and began to pace. He needed to bleed off some extra energy. Chuck turned to Samantha, his voice deep and vibrated with the strength of his emotions. [color=8dc73f]“I want them all dead. Starting with Major Butler.” [/color] Samantha nodded as her mind kicked into high gear. [color=ec008c]“I say we visit this camp and take them all out. Then we take a sniper rifle and go hunting for the other two. In the meantime, I will find their bank accounts. We will reroute that money to help their families. It is the least we can do for those men.” [/color] Chuck gave her a feral smile and nodded. [color=8dc73f]“I like it. Let’s go tomorrow. I am sure we can pick up what we need at the local army surplus store.” [/color] Samantha grinned and winked at Chuck. [color=ec008c]“I have contacts. We can get what we need. It won’t take us long to take out their training camp. Let’s go shopping!” [/color] [hr] The next day at the crack of dawn Samantha entered from the west and Chuck entered from the east. They quickly over ran the cabin. Samantha didn’t bother with a gun. She used her knives. She had taken down three of them with knives to the throat while Chuck had taken out the other two with shots to the head. The cabin was covered in blood splatter. They dug through the papers scattered everywhere. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “Adam wasn’t joking. These guys have no clue about operational security. All there intel is here for the taking. I guess they thought since it was on paper it would be secure from people like me.” [/color] Chuck smiled as he raised an eyebrow at Samantha. [color=8dc73f]“Normally I would say that is true but Chaos you have skills that go way beyond the standard hacker. Take that as a compliment. You are not a pasty skinned smart nerd hiding in a room and unable to jog a mile.” [/color] Samantha smiled and winked at Chuck. She found a map with their new larger training camp on it. That was their next target. [color=ec008c]“Looks like they tried to mimic what the terrorists are doing in the middle east. They are hosting a pop up training camp for new recruits. And look at this agenda. Looks like Mr. play soldier Kingsley is supposed to be there to teach it. Ready to go hunting?” [/color] Chuck just smiled and nodded. [color=8dc73f]“First let’s dispose of the evidence. Go outside with Duke while I take care of that.” [/color] Samantha shrugged and went out and over to the treeline where Duke was waiting and tense. She gave him a pat and told him in a soothing voice that Chuck was okay. He seemed to settle and some of the tension left his posture. Chuck came jogging out of the cabin. [color=8dc73f]Chuck: “We might want to back up even more.”[/color] He pulled out a detonator and pushed a button. The cabin exploded into a fiery ball. The fiery debris landed in a cloud around where the cabin used to stand and everything was on fire. [color=8dc73f]Chuck: “Give me just a minute to make sure none of the debris causes a forest fire. I just need to make sure the embers in the tree line don’t take.”[/color] Chuck started to jog around the perimeter. He left the cabin debris burning and only put it out if it was in danger of spreading. The damp conditions from a recent rain helped contain what might have been a bad forest fire. Once he was satisfied he jogged back over to them. [color=8dc73f]Chuck: “I think it is safe to leave it now. It should burn itself out.” [/color] [color=ec008c]Samantha smiled and nodded. “Well let’s recon this camp and have some fun with Mr. Kingsley next.” [/color] [hr] Samantha was using binoculars as she looked out over the tent city that had been set up in the forest clearing in another part of the rocky mountains. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the cliche’d drab olive green cloth tents. They wanted so badly to be taken seriously. They wanted to think of themselves as an army. They were such pretenders though. Chuck was using his own set of binoculars and thinking similar thoughts. [color=8dc73f]“Sheesh the sentries are so busy talking to each other they are not looking out for any incoming threats. The encampment is set up haphazardly without any real planning at all. The only thing they did right was the command tent in the center. Yet all the other tents face in as well. There are no sentries on the outskirts of the camp. There is no barrier or fence surrounding the camp to keep out critters. Their trash is out in the open in cans without lids. Even if there are no bears in the area, there are definitely critters like raccoons and wolves or coyotes to deal with.I guess it is possible they have some in the tree line but there are none on this side of the camp on the backside as far as I can see. I will take a jog around the perimeter with Duke.” [/color] Chuck whistled for Duke and gave him a hand sign to patrol with him. The two of them took off at a job and disappeared into the trees. You would think that would be hard for a man as tall as him. But he easily began to blend into the nature around. He was quiet and hard to hear. He watched where he planted those big feet of his. Duke padded along just as silently. The two fell into a familiar rhythm. Chuck almost smiled when Duke alerted on a guard ahead. Good they wouldn’t make it too easy for him. Chuck slowed down and moved forward cautiously. He found a guard that had wandered to take a piss. He snuck up behind the guy and wrapped his arm around his throat cutting off his air. The man panicked forgetting he had a gun and a knife on his belt. Chuck whispered into the man’s ear as he struggled to pull his arm away. [color=8dc73f]Chuck: “Men like you make a mockery of real soldiers who put their life on the line to protect this country. Boohoo you don’t like following the rules. Boohoo you might have to work with someone who looks different to you.” The man was really panicking now and was shaking his head no. Chuck squeezed tighter so that the man had an idea of his strength. “If you wake up, thank God for your life, turn over a new leaf and help your fellow man. Stop being a whiny bitch and accept that God wants it this way. He has the power to change it. Who are you to say this is wrong? Did you know your leader did all this for a fucking paycheck. He doesn’t believe the crap he is spouting. He wants you to do his dirty work for him. He had this group attack American Citizens. AMERICAN CITIZENS Where is the honor in that?[/color]” Chuck growled the last statement into his ear. He held on long enough to put the guy out for a while. He hoped the guy took the lesson and learned from it. Chuck continued his jog around the camp. He had decided to plant small charges that would be just a small explosion. They would be all light, noise, and bang. Enough to topple some trees. It wouldn’t be enough to start any fires though. By the time he reached Samantha again, the entire clearing was full of bobby traps left behind. He grinned at Samantha and set up a camera to record the event so they could watch it later. He pulled his rifle out and automatically checked the loadout and touched where he had extra magazines stored. Samantha checked that her pistols had full loud outs but reholstered them. She twitched her wrists and dropped the longer blades along her forearms into her hands. She nodded to Chuck that she was ready. Chuck got the party started as he sighted the sentry guard at the camp entrance and promptly put a bullet in his head. Before the man he had been talking to could respond to that, Chuck had put a bullet in his head. The loud report of the rifle had stirred up the camp though. Men came pouring out of the camp looking all around. Their guns waved wildly, often crossing the body of their own men. Chuck sighed in disgust. He took out two more as he ran towards the fight. Chuck was about 50 yards away before anyone finally spotted him. Their aim was shit though. Chuck just kept on running. Samantha streaked past him with Duke at her heels. Duke took down the guy in the lead. Samantha waded into the crowd her twin blades singing as she stabbed and slashed her away through the men. She proved to them why kevlar was no use in a knife fight. As she stabbed right through their body armor. Duke was keeping pace with Samantha and his teeth around the throat of another man shaking him like a rag doll. Chuck had switched to his pistols and was cleaning up quickly. It was over in minutes. The twenty men that had run out of camp were spread out in front of the entrance in various states of injuries and death. Samantha looked over the faces and looked over at Chuck. [color=ec008c]“Kingsley is not here. Five bucks says he is hiding in the command tent.” [/color] Chuck laughed and moved to step over a body. [color=8dc73f]“No bet! Let’s go find him. Shall we?” [/color] Chuck led the way into the camp. He had his rifle back up and his head on the swivel. He and Samantha fell into the same old routine like it hadn’t been a while since they did this together. Chuck went left and Sam went right. Duke moved to Chuck’s side. Chuck gave Duke the hand sign for Seek. Duke took off at a lope and turned immediately for the large tall square army green tent in the middle of the camp. Duke paused outside and pawed the ground in an alert signal. As Chuck approached he could hear the whisper of voices inside the tent. Chuck smiled and slipped around to the rear of the tent. He took a knife and was prepared to slit a hole in the back of the tent. He was willing to bet they were all facing the tent entrance. Chuck very carefully and quietly slit a hole in the back wall of the tent. It was big enough for his rifle and for him to see through to aim. There were five men in the tent. They were dressed in Black Diamond uniforms and must be Kingsley and his men. The uniforms were black and grey urban camp with the security company’s fancy logo on the sleeve. Chuck waited and when Samantha came into view he used the team’s hand signals to let her know there were five men in the tent. Samantha mimed going in the side of the tent while Chuck fired from the back. Samantha grinned evilly and carefully cut a slit along the side wall of the tent. She indicated to give her a minute before attacking. She only cut a slit big enough to crawl through. She carefully crawled into the tent. Chuck sent Duke in after her. Chuck kept watching through his scope. He could see Samantha was in position knives at the ready. She gave him a nod. Chuck took aim and opened fire at the two men in the very back of the tent. Samantha was a whirling tornado of steel that hit the men from the side. The men were yelling and screaming at one another as they tried to defend themselves. They had some training but they were not even close to matching Samantha who had taken out her two in the same amount of time it had taken Chuck. Duke had gotten the real prize. He had Kingsley by the throat. Kingsley turned out to be all talk and no skill. He was just like his men, panicking and forgetting he had weapons of his own. Not that Duke gave him much chance to do anything else. Samantha politely unarmed him before putting her boot on his chest. Chuck had run around to the tent entrance. He smiled as he saw Samantha standing over Kingsley with Duke growling at the man who was holding his throat. Blood was all over Kingsley’s hands. Chuck grinned and called Duke off. [color=8dc73f]“Good boy Duke.”[/color] Chuck grinned at Samantha. [color=8dc73f]“Now what to do with this fish?” [/color] Samantha winked at Chuck. [color=ec008c]“I don’t think it is big enough to catch. We could throw it back but it seems kind of sickly. I don’t think it would survive in the wild very well.” [/color] Chuck laughed before he pulled out his cell phone and turned the camera on. He crouched down next to Kingsley. [color=8dc73f]Chuck: “Mr. Kingsley, did you and your employees kill civilians, steal antiquities, and arm terrorists while working in the Middle East?” [/color] Kingsley at first tried to look mad and like he was in charge but a sharp bark and snapping of teeth from Duke had him nodding. He gave a raspy [color=fff200]“Yes.” [/color] Chuck wanted to reward Duke with a steak after this mission. He was such a good partner. [color=8dc73f]“Did Senator Shephard cover up your actions for money from the transactions.” [/color] Kingsley looked truly terrified now and was adamantly shaking his head no. [color=8dc73f]Chuck pressed on. “Senator Shephard is on the Armed Services Committee and was instrumental in your company receiving lucrative government contracts. Is this correct?” [/color] Kingsley’s eyes widened further in fear and was still shaking his head no. Samantha spoke for the first time with a shrug. [color=ec008c]“I have already found the paper trail Kingsley. You are going to die here today. Any last words?” [/color] Kingsley stared at Samantha and saw the truth in her eyes. He looked resigned and angry. [color=fff200]“Yes it was all Shephard’s idea. It was stupid of him to trust Butler. The man was always an ass kisser and bootlicker. The man couldn’t be trusted with the simplest stuff.” [/color] Samantha looked over at Chuck. [color=ec008c]“Are you satisfied?”[/color] Chuck stood up tall and shook his head. [color=8dc73f]“NO. I won’t be satisfied till Shephard joins these sick fucks.” [/color] Chuck casually shot Kingsley in the head. Radio chatter filled the air from a hand unit that they had missed on Kingsley’s belt. [color=fff200]“Hold on boss! We are almost there.” [/color] Samantha smiled and looked at Chuck. [color=ec008c]“Well isn’t that lovely! We are going to have company.” [/color] Chuck gave Duke a hand signal. [color=8dc73f]“Come on, let's go wait for them and see who all shows up.” [/color] Chuck grinned. [color=8dc73f]“My surprise won’t be a waste after all.”[/color] Chuck and Samantha retreated to where they had set up their camera to capture the camp. They had taken any relevant information from the command tent. Samantha had shoved some laptops and cell phones into a tactical backpack she had carried. She grinned at Chuck as she pulled out what looked like a 4 inch metal cylinder. It had lights and circuitry down the side. She pressed a button on the end of the tube and it began to slowly glow as if charging from the base up with a yellow light. Samantha reached up with her other hand to the necklace she was wearing that carried one of her mini drones. She activated it and tossed it up into the air. Now they had some aerial reconnaissance. She pulled out her laptop and activated a program. This would have been more fun if they had their armor but that was something Raven kept on base. They hadn’t been allowed to take it with them. That didn’t mean Samantha was ever without any toys. She shared the laptop with Chuck. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “Now you can watch. Here, take the laptop. I want to wait till the right time. I developed a new toy that was inspired by you.” [/color] Chuck laughed as he took her laptop and kept his eyes on the screen as the drone flew around the clearing in every widening circle. Chuck smiled as the drone caught the movement of a group of ten more men coming in fast on dirt bikes cross country. [color=8dc73f]Chuck: “Our company will be here in about 2 minutes. The drone got high enough that I caught the movement in the trees. They are on dirt bikes. Probably took that access road like we did and then cut through the forest to this location.” [/color] Chuck looked over at the tube and wondered what it did and how he had inspired it. He would have to wait for a demonstration. He noticed that the yellow glow on the side had almost reached the entire length of the tube. [color=ec008c]Samantha sighed “I am still working out the design issues. The only challenge I have so far is that it takes so long to charge. It is not as fast to deploy as I would like.” [/color] Chuck nodded sagely. [color=8dc73f]“I am looking forward to what it does. Meanwhile, it is almost time for fireworks.” [/color] Chuck held up his cell phone and grinned as he pulled up an app and hit a button. [color=8dc73f]“I love technology. It really helps me with my job. I always love the toys you give me.” [/color] Samantha chuckled as he realized Chuck had downloaded the AI she had created for his armor into his cellphone. She watched the screen from the drone as the bikes split up and were trying to enter the camp from multiple directions. The explosions started going off. Some of the men were startled and ran into trees as they tried to dodge explosions. They were going off all through the trees around camp. Samantha cringed as one had a tree fall on them. Boomer smiled and waved his hand like he was conducting an orchestra. The men coming in were screaming and disoriented and trying to figure out what was happening. It was clear they were trained but had never been this deep in the shit before. Samantha snickered at Boomer’s delight in the chaos he was causing. She smiled at that thought. He was her brother in so many ways. He was the perfect chaos causing partner. Duke whimpered a little but Boomer had put a muff over his ears to reduce the noise so it wouldn’t hurt Duke’s hearing. It wasn’t his armor though. So it wasn’t as good. Samantha grinned as she noted her new toy was ready. She turned to Chuck and waved it dramatically. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “I call this Firefly. Watch what it does.” [/color] Samantha twisted each end of the tube in opposite directions. She then pulled the ends out to reveal there was something inside. It was glowing yellow at first. Then a swarm of small insect-like drones began to take off. They had a glowing yellow light on the end that resembled a firefly. They looked like fireflies as they began to fly around the clearing. Samantha explained to Chuck how it worked. [color=ec008c]“These are microdrones that are being controlled by Bob.” Samantha didn’t need to explain that Bob was the name of her AI as Chuck was familiar with him. [/color] Bob’s mechanical voice came over the laptop. [color=fff200]“Fireflies have locked onto targets. Beginning bombing run.” [/color] Samantha continued her explanation for Chuck. [color=ec008c]“They hold a new liquid explosive compound that glows. Each one of those drones has the explosive power of a small grenade. They have a tiny guidance system chip which allows Bob to control them. They don’t have much range, about 150 meters. Bob can use them for intelligence gathering as they have pinpoint cameras on them for eyes and a tiny transceiver. He can also set them to blow up.” [/color] The fireflies began to magnetically lock onto the remaining security personnel that were attempting to save their boss who was already dead. The fireflies locked onto the frame of the bikes and began to explode. The motorcycles began to explode. Bob had waited till they had been in the clearing before setting off the explosives. A secondary fireworks show began that rained metal and blood. Samantha chuckled as her aerial drone caught it all on camera for Chuck. There was nothing left moving. Their work here was done. Chuck gave a delighted laugh and whistled. [color=8dc73f]“You know Sam, you really are my sister. You get me. I am glad we can share this. You make me the best toys.” [/color] Samantha examined the results as two thirds of the firefly swam returned to the docking port. She twisted the ends back together and pushed the cylinder closed once more. Samantha grinned and passed the cylinder over to Chuck who turned it over in his hand with a look of wonder. Samantha smiled. [color=ec008c]“I was trying to develop a better battery for my drones and stumbled into this explosive. I hadn’t decided how to use it yet. Then I thought about you. I was like how could I turn this into smart grenades for Boomer. Then I thought about your southern roots. It all just came together. I will have to install a software patch on your AI to control them.” [/color] Chuck just smiled and leaned over to give her a hug. Samantha looked like a child standing next to him. Chuck was almost 3 feet taller than her. Chuck was amused that someone so tiny got him in ways so many others didn’t. He always marveled at the creative destruction she managed to wreak in her own ways. [color=8dc73f]Chuck: “I love it! I repeat you make me the best toys.” [/color] [hr] [h1]Washington DC, United States[/h1] A few days later, Samantha and Chuck were watching Senator Shephard’s lavish home in Washington DC. This was where he stayed when in Washington. He was the elected senator of North Carolina. It pissed Chuck off that the elected senator for his state was responsible for the deaths of US Marines. He saw the obscene wealth on display and it sickened him. This man was a traitor to his country. He had sold out his fellow countrymen for a buck. He was a paranoid bastard. There was a small army of guards on the perimeter around his home. He was right to be paranoid after all the crap on his hands and the type of people he dealt with. Chuck smiled at the idea that their work in taking down Artemis and Andros made the good senator nervous. Samantha noted that his security was good. Electronic gate with two guards. Roving guards on the grounds with one stationary on the roof. Samantha had already hacked the plans for the building. The security company who installed his alarms and surveillance systems wasn’t the best. Their internal security was laughable. It is obvious to her that the senator went for the cheapest bid on his security. His guards showed some training but they were not up to their level. Samantha sighed and turned to look at Chuck. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “This is not going to be that difficult. The only real question is how covert do we want to be?” [/color] Samantha tapped a finger against her chin in thought. [color=ec008c]“Why don’t we go full covert on this one? I will infiltrate and take out the good senator. You provide overwatch. Those poor guards didn’t do anything except pick a scumbag to work for. They probably have no clue how dirty the good senator really is.” [/color] Samantha dug into her tactical backpack and pulled out a magazine of special ammo that was designed to go into Chuck’s rifle. [color=8dc73f]“Tazer rounds. But you will have to aim for the head or clothing. It won’t go through body armor. What do you think?” [/color] [color=8dc73f]Chuck sighed. “I want him dead but I agree with you. This one is yours. It is much more suited to your talents. I will provide overwatch. Make sure you raid his safe and secrets so we can expose him afterwards.” [/color] Samantha smiled and nodded. She was already prepped for this mission. She was wearing black yoga pants, a black hoodie, and black combat boots. She had her knife bandolier on under her hoodie. She had a black tactical backpack with tools and her laptop in it. She had a pistol but didn’t really want to use it on this operation. She wanted to go stealth and get in and out without being seen if she could. She grinned at Chuck. [color=ec008c]“You can trust me I won’t forget a thing.” [/color] Samantha and Chuck had gone all around the property. It had a wrought iron fence with security cameras every fifty feet. The company who installed these cameras and security systems had obviously never been up against someone of her caliber. Samantha moved fast and dashed up to the camera sitting in the corner of the fenceline. The camera faced in and didn’t cover the outside. She climbed up and slapped a button sized device on the side of the camera. Samantha trusted Bob to take control of the cameras as she went and loop the feed. She would be a ghost. Samantha had already figured out that there were blind spots among the camera feeds. She was already moving away from the fence heading towards the next one. Now all she had to do was avoid the guards. Chuck followed Samantha through his scope as she made her way towards the house. He could appreciate her skills. She seemed to disappear into the shadows and blend. He didn’t understand why she was taking the path she was but he was sure she had a reason. He chuckled as he watched Samantha follow a guard through the side door. She slipped in right behind him. He couldn’t keep following her with his scope so he watched the guards for signs of alarm. Inside the house, Sam slipped in behind a guard so she didn’t trigger any alarms or sensors. She stayed right behind him as he moved further into the house. Sam could hear other voices. He must be heading to some kind of guard break room. She saw a hallway to her left and went down it. She found the grand living room. She carefully made her way up the stairs. It didn’t seem as if he had guards roaming around inside his home. Samantha smiled as that made her job easier. She quickly snuck upstairs and went directly to the senator’s home office. This was almost too easy, she thought. She slipped inside the dark room. She sat at his desk and pulled out Bob and connected him to the senator’s computer. She began to copy and build a ghost drive of all the senator’s data. She also uploaded a program that would delete all the surveillance and replace it with doctored footage that only showed normal activity. She knew the senator had the cliche wall safe behind the painting behind his desk. She smiled as she punched the code into the digital lock. The senator had graciously written it down on a post it note that was under his keyboard. Samantha quickly inventoried the safe. There were stacks of cash, some antiquities, jewelry, and some watches. Samantha took most of the cash. She didn’t want authorities to look at his death too closely. She took the files out of the safe and took pictures of the contents. Oh the senator was stupid enough to keep files on his deeds and partners at home. He probably thought they would never be found. Samantha changed her mind and took all the cash. She put the files back in the safe with the jewelry, antiquities, and watches. She left the painting safe open so it was easily seen. She booted up the senator’s computer and opened some of the encrypted files that he thought he had hidden well. She left the documents opened in tabs but minimized them. She set the computer to not turn off or go to sleep due to inactivity. She simply turned the monitor off. She smiled and then packed up all her gear. She then listened at the door before slipping back into the hallway. Samantha listened at the Senator’s door. She could hear him talking on his phone. She smiled as she overheard the conversation. The senator was informing his guards that he was expecting company in thirty minutes of the prostitute variety. She waited till he was off the phone. She slipped quickly through the door. She moved quickly across the room and punched the senator in the throat so he didn’t scream for help. He doubled over trying to breathe and she threw him into the chair. She used the bedsheet to tie him to the chair. She stuffed a pair of his socks into his mouth for a gag. She had him subdued in under 2 minutes. She pointed her camera at him and began to record. [color=ec008c]“Your guards don’t even know I am in the house. I have disabled your security cameras and systems. There will be no recording of how I got in. Your safe is open as is your computer with all your secrets there for the taking. Now Senator I am for a very specific reason. I am here to charge you with treason. You Senator Bradley Shephard have used your position to promote Major James Butler and send business and government contracts to Morgan Kingsley who owns Black Diamond Security. A simple nod for yes and a head shake for no will do senator. We can’t have you screaming for help until we are done here.” [/color] Senator Shephard shook his head no and if looks could kill she would be dead. She smiled as she told him. [color=ec008c]“I already have your paper trail and documents senator. Lying will not help you now. You should know that Kingsley and Butler are already dead. Now let’s continue.” [/color] Samantha was gratified to see a sliver of fear and uncertainty in the man’s eyes. [color=ec008c]“Senator you got into business with a very dangerous group that supports global terrorism called Artemis. You were introduced to this group through Pavlel Andros. You arranged for your militia friends to arm the terrorists that you help smuggle into the country with real visas provided by your office. This terrorist group was responsible for the terrorist attack in Los Angeles at Angeles Stadium. Is this true Senator? Yes or No?” [/color] The senator once more shook his head no. Samantha was growing angry now. [color=ec008c]“Isn’t it true Senator that you arranged for your buddy Kingsley to steal antiquities for sale on the black market from the Middle East? That you silenced and arranged deaths for US Marines that tried to report Black Diamond’s activities? That you pocketed a share of the cash from these illegal sales?” [/color] The Senator was looking terrified now but was still shaking his head no. Samantha’s expression hardened. She slipped out of the room and grabbed the contents of the safe. She flung them at the senator one of the time. He flinched in pain as she nailed him in the crotch with a heavy bronze statue. Samantha’s voice hardened with fury. [color=ec008c]“You killed American Citizens for money. You deny your actions when the proof of your crimes are right here in your home! Let me make something perfectly clear to you Senator. You are dying here today. You are not going to live. I hope you feel pain and despair just like the US Marines you ordered killed to line your pockets and protect your secrets. You are no public servant but a leech and a disease. Well I am here to eliminate that pest. You are sworn to protect America’s Citizens and you paved the way to let the butchers into our home. You invited them in and armed them to kill us… for money. Do you know how many people died Senator?” [/color] The Senator now looked even more desperate and just kept shaking his head no. Samantha stifled a scream of rage. She turned off the cell phone. He was a cowardly piece of shit that probably still hoped he would live and his guards would get here in time. Samantha stood before him and looked him in the eyes. Fury and tension screaming through her body. [color=ec008c]“You killed my family in that attack, senator. You killed the soldiers in my friend’s combat team. For those crimes against American citizens, I sentence you to die.” [/color] Samantha stabbed a knife into his throat and pulled it sideways. She held it there until she was sure he was choking on his own blood. She ungagged him now. She took a snapshot as proof of his death for Chuck. [color=ec008c]“I hope you burn in hell, bastard. This was too fast for you. You should have suffered more but I am out of time.” [/color] Samantha retrieved her knife and wiped it clean on the bedsheets. She wiped as much blood off as possible and pulled off the bloody gloves and pulled on another pair of black latex gloves. She then quickly backtracked her path in. She dodged the guards and retrieved her device on the corner camera as she went over the fence. She crouched and made her way back to Chuck. Samantha met Chuck’s eyes and she had a wild unsettled look in hers. Her emotions were high and she had tears running down her face. She gave him a nod. Chuck wrapped her up in a hug. [color=8dc73f]“He’s dead. He can’t hurt anyone else.” [/color] Samantha finally let all that rage and pain over her father’s death go as she collapsed into a weepy bundle on Chuck. Chuck patted her back awkwardly offering what comfort he could. Samantha finally got control of herself. [color=ec008c]“He died too quickly. He should have suffered more like his victims. He refused to admit what he did wrong. I even flung the evidence in his own safe at him and he denied it.” [/color] Chuck gave her another little squeeze. [color=8dc73f]“I am satisfied that the threat has been removed. I have only one complaint... I didn't get to shoot anyone. We can hurt him more by attacking his reputation and legacy. Let’s leak his activities to the press. We know his death will be investigated since you decided to opt out of full stealth there at the end. The authorities may try to cover it up. Let’s make sure the public knows what kind of dirt bag he was.” [/color] Samantha laughed as Chuck complained he didn't get to shoot anyone. Then she simply nodded in agreement with his plan. [color=ec008c]“Thanks for helping me with this. Let’s get out of here.” [/color] Chuck laughed and they began to make their way back to their rental vehicle. Duke trotting contentedly at their side. [hr] A talking head on the television. [color=ed1c24]“Law enforcement have confirmed that Senator Bradley Shephard was brutally murdered last night. They say that the investigation into his death is just starting. However, multiple news agencies have come forward with information and documents that they say came from an anonymous source alleging that Senator Shephard was involved in a host of illegal activities and abusing the power of his office. The documentation ties the senator to atrocities committed in the middle east by Black Diamond Security contractors including the unwarranted death of peaceful civilians and stealing of antiquities for sale on the black market. There are documents linking the Senator to Andros and Artemis, the global terror network that has recently made headlines. There was evidence that the senator ordered the death of American troops deployed in the middle east to keep his dirty secrets.Yet another news agency directly linked the Senator to the terrorist attack in Los Angeles at Angels Stadium. Our news agency reached out to the FBI and Washington DC police department for comment or confirmation about this information. The only statement that was given was that it was under investigation and they could neither confirm or deny any information at this time. They had no comment.” [/color] [hr] [h1] Somewhere in Europe in an undisclosed location[/h1] With Shephard’s death, Samantha had finally begun the process of purging all the pent up pain and sorrow she felt over losing her father and grandfather. This helped her with moving on from losing Skye. She blamed Shephard and Artemis for that too. It was men like him that created a need for Raven. He might have been small potatoes compared to General Zhao but it was still necessary for someone outside the system to step in and end those atrocities. When money and wealth created a system that allowed those with it, to ignore the consequences of their actions, it became necessary to have a force that has the will and ability to act. Samantha had done a lot of soul searching. She had spent more time in her garage, in the dojo, and meditating. She had no need to work ever again if she didn’t want to. Samantha still had that burning need to provide justice for those who were too weak or lacked the power to seek it on their own. She finally agreed to meet Oracle and have a conversation with him. She laid her feelings out for him. Samantha: [color=ec008c]“I don’t trust you. I don’t trust you to have my back when I need it. I don’t trust you to tell me the whole truth. I expect you to lie to me to get what you want and need from me. You have shown me that this is what I can expect from you.” [/color] Samantha met his eyes calmly. He could read she meant every damn word she said. Samantha: [color=ec008c]“I also recognize that if you step down, others will take your place. And they might be worse. I accept that for now you are the lesser of two evils. I want you to know that I will only take missions that I can independently verify what’s going on. You can offer missions but the team will only take the ones of our choosing. You can build other teams but if you want me to lead a team, then I chose. I chose who is on the team. I chose how the team runs. I chose where the base is. I want you to understand that I will withhold anything that I feel you should not know. Like Sol Hestia. It is too dangerous. NO government or organization should have such a powerful weapon. It is simply too destructive. So I made sure it went into the sun along with the research on it. I don’t regret that decision. I won’t apologize for it. The Earth is safe from that threat. Skye Lyons gave her life to ensure that goal. The team will get more down time between missions. They are all great operators but the best equipment breaks without maintenance. For the team, that means time to properly heal and decompress. I will be your conscience because I cannot trust you to use yours. Do we understand each other?”[/color] Samantha merely stared Oracle down. She would walk away and it wouldn’t bother her. She could still tackle the world’s issues. Her little extracurricular activity with Chuck proved that. Law enforcement knew that someone had killed all those men they had no or proof of who. The truth was that Oracle needed her more than she needed him. Oracle simply nodded. Samantha nodded and handed him a piece of paper. [color=ec008c]“A dead drop secure email you contact me at. I still have one last piece of unfinished business. I need Skye’s fiddle.” [/color] Oracle’s eyes widened in surprise and a little unease. Obviously he knew about Skye’s last message but didn’t know that it had made its way to her. Samantha gave him a knowing smile as he sent a message to a flunky who returned with the violin. Samantha accepted the instrument in its case. She turned and walked away without another word. [hr] [h1]Isle of Skye [/h1] Samantha had sent out the invitation and the message to the whole team. She had arranged a memorial service for Skye. She had sent them directions on how to find the site where Skye wanted to be laid to rest. Samantha had gone ahead of time and found the place. She had spent some time meditating there. She had noted the coordinates for the others who might not be as good at reading a map or navigating the terrain. They would be laying Skye to rest on the last day of summer. Samantha had taken a piece of granite and engraved Skye’s name on it with a queen’s crown above her name. Beloved friend and leader below it. She had carved a message into the back of the stone, "This stone commemorates the life of the woman who saved the world". The granite stone was flat on the bottom with the top shaped like a heart with wings. Samantha was wearing all black. Black jeans, t-shirt, hoodie, and boots. Her backpack was set off to the side. The stone had been placed exactly in front of the stone circle with the wildflowers around it. The fiddle rested next to it. Samantha waited for the others to gather. She chatted quietly with the others while they waited for everyone. She was not surprised that most of them came. Samantha took her place next to the stone. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “We are all here to remember a remarkable woman, Skye Lyons. She was my friend, my leader.” Samantha’s voice caught and she took a deep shaky breath. “She died saving our world. She deserves to be remembered. In her last message, she asked this of us. She wanted her fiddle left here with a rock with her name on it. I did a little better than that. I would love to have scattered her ashes but they will probably never give up trying to understand the secrets that died with her. I hope Skye finds peace and love in the afterlife. I know she didn’t have much peace while she was here. I created her headstone. It will be a place we can come to remember her sacrifice and the amazing woman that not many were privileged to know. Do you have anything you want to share?” [/color] Samantha left space for them to share their thoughts and feelings. She smiled, cried, and laughed with the rest of them. She turned to face the stone and laid some wildflowers in front of it. [color=ec008c]“Rest in peace, Queen. May your heart and spirit fly true.”[/color] She then stood and faced the team once more. She gave them all a cocky grin. [color=ec008c]“Well I heard from Oracle. Would anyone like to be on my new team?” [/color]