"That punk is too smart for his own good," Sergeant Barreto grumbled as she pulled out behind Cody's Toyota POS, making no pretense to keep her distance.
"I wonder why Heidi has us following him," Sergeant Lynch said thoughtfully. "She's made it pretty obvious in the past that she can monitor people's movements and even intervene when necessary."
"Hard to say," Sergeant Barreto shrugged. "I'm more interested in how big of an ass-chewing we're going to get from the Colonel for taking orders from Heidi."
"I'm pretty sure he'll understand," Sergeant Lynch said dryly. "I'm pretty sure goddess supersedes colonel in rank."
"Do you really think she is Hades?" Sergeant Barreto asked, feeling an almost giddy sense of wonder at the possibility.
"After everything we've witnessed?" Sergeant Lynch laughed. "Yeah, I could definitely believe it."
"I wonder if Colonel Clegg is enjoying all of the brass in town," Sergeant Barreto shook her head slowly. "It's like being back in Afghanistan with all of the generals running around here."
"At least the idiots aren't trying to abduct her anymore," Sergeant Lynch noted grimly. "Do you think she really ghosted that senator?"
"Probably," Sergeant Barreto nodded. "She's probably seen more death in her life than everyone on earth put together. I'd imagine ghosting an asshat like Senator Cornwallis would be like swatting a fly to her."
She frowned as they pulled up to Cody's residence. It was a large two-story house with an immaculate yard. It was not the kind of home she had expected the little rebel to live in.
"Nice place," Sergeant Lynch said in surprise.
Sergeant Barreto scowled as Cody saluted them again after getting out of his car and walking up to his house.
"Shit!" Sergeant Lynch growled, snatching her 9-mil from its holster and jumping out of the car.
Sergeant Barreto immediately followed suit, searching the area for threats. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?"
"That van doesn't belong here," Sergeant Lynch replied as she ran toward the house.
Sergeant Barreto noticed an unmarked white van parked two houses down. There were no windows on the side, but she could make out the dull glow of LCD screens in the back of the van through the front windshield.
With a curse, she followed Sergeant Lynch up to the front door at a dead run. The door was just closing when Sergeant Lynch kicked it back open as several high caliber shots rang out. Two 9-mil shots fired off in quick succession as Sergeant Barreto dove through the door, rolling low.
Sergeant Lynch was standing over two men in black tactical gear. They were lying prone on the floor with blood pooling on the tiled anteroom. Cody was crouching next to the side of the wall, his eyes wide in astonishment. Sergeant Barreto motioned Sergeant Lynch to stay with Cody and then quickly ducked into the adjoining front room. A quick survey revealed it to be empty. There would be at least two more gunmen at the other exits.
She poked her head around the corner into the kitchen before quickly pulling it back. Another merc was standing near an exit at the back of the kitchen, looking at the hallway near him with his gun trained on the opening. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out and shot him in the shoulder between the joints in his body armor. He screamed and dropped his assault rifle, firing a few rounds as it fell. Another man came around the corner, already spraying bullets. She stayed low and shot him in the head, not bothering to try keeping him alive. She already had one alive for questioning.
As the wounded gunmen tried to pull a sidearm from his boot, she shot him in the forearm.
"The next one is for your head," she told him coldly. "Just the four of you?"
She watched his eyes closely as he shook his head. He was lying. She had a talent for recognizing when a person lied.
"Good, let's talk," she said conversationally as she walked closer. "Who's your CO?"
"Fuck you, bitch," he spat, glaring at her with murderous fury.
"Not even if you promise to bathe," she replied dryly. "You're just a worthless merc, aren't you? I suppose there's no point in keeping you alive, since you won't know anything anyway. We'll take this conversation up with your boss."
So saying, she aimed her 9-mil at his head and began to pull the trigger.
"Wait!" the man cried out, all sense of defiance vanishing. "I don't know who placed the order."
"Like I said, I'll take it up with your boss," she said with a cold smile. "If you don't know anything, there's no point in keeping you alive."
"It was from some general that's in town," he said quickly. "I heard my CO mention a general."
"There are a lot of generals in town right now," she said with a sigh. "That's not nearly good enough."
"That's all I know!" the man declared insistently. "Please don't kill me!"
He had been slowly sliding his wounded arm down his other leg. Growling in annoyance, she shot his hand, grazing his leg as well. He howled in pain, littering the air with curses.
"Lynch, get some backup over here," Sergeant Barreto called out, never taking her eyes from the mercenary. "We need to get this mess cleaned up."
"Copy," Sergeant Lynch replied from the anteroom.
"Cody, where is your family?" Sergeant Barreto called out as she kept close watch on the injured man.
"It's just my dad and me," Cody answered in a shaky voice. "He's in Afghanistan."
"Really?" Sergeant Barreto asked in surprise. "Who's your dad?"
"Lieutenant Arty Albright," Cody replied as he slowly came into the room. He stared at the wounded merc in fascination as the man lay groaning on the floor.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Sergeant Barreto muttered.
"Backup's on the way," Sergeant Lynch announced as she joined them. "I think there might be one less general in the world."
"Come again?" Sergeant Barreto asked with a frown.
"I just got a text from Lawsley," Sergeant Lynch said quietly. "He said General Lewdowski spontaneously combusted in front of about fifty witnesses."
"Well, I guess we know who ordered the disposal unit now," Sergeant Barreto declared in satisfaction. "You should feel pretty special, kid, knowing your girlfriend is willing to kill for you."
"I already told you, my name is Cody," Cody grumbled in irritation. "Not kid, punk, tiger, slick, or ace."
"Whatever you say, chief," Sergeant Barreto replied patronizingly.
Cody surprised her when he laughed. She barely avoided letting her gaze leave the merc. "I can live with chief. Anyway, thanks for keeping my chestnuts out of the fire."
"I don't think it was your chestnuts we kept out of the fire," Sergeant Lynch replied dryly. "How did you avoid getting shot when you walked in the door?"
"Quick reflexes and a healthy dose of paranoia," Cody replied, his voice becoming steadier. "I noticed the van across the street, so I was already suspicious. When I saw the two guys waiting for me, I dropped and rolled."
"You've got good instincts, turbo," Sergeant Lynch nodded approvingly.
A few minutes later, backup arrived, including Colonel Clegg. His face was a tightly controlled mask of rage as he observed the dead mercs.
"Good work," he told the two sergeants approvingly when he finished his survey of the mess. "I knew I could count on you."
"Thank you, sir," they both replied, sharing a relieved look. Apparently, he wasn't going to hold them accountable for taking orders from Heidi.
"Cody, I talked to your father's CO on my way over here," Colonel Clegg informed the somber youth, placing a hand on Cody's shoulder. "You'll probably be getting a call soon. I let him know that you are safe."
"Thank you, sir," Cody said, sighing with a resigned expression. "He's probably going to be freaking out anyway."
"He wouldn't deserve the title of father if he wasn't," Colonel Clegg replied with a nod. "I'll see what I can do to get him stateside as soon as possible."
Sergeant Barreto didn't miss the look of excitement that quickly flashed through Cody's eyes. He was obviously close to his father, despite his appearance as a rebel.
"Thank you," Cody said again, this time with a lot more feeling.
Colonel Clegg nodded, patting Cody's shoulder again.
Red and blue flashing lights could be seen in the front room window as the sound of sirens approached.
"Looks like the 5-0 is here," Colonel Clegg said sourly. "This is going to be a bureaucratic nightmare."
"Who called them?" Cody asked in surprise.
"I'm assuming your neighbors did," Colonel Clegg replied as he walked over to the front door to meet the local law enforcement. "Gunshots in a residential neighborhood like this attract a lot of attention from concerned citizens."
The policemen pulled up next to the Humvees and got out of their cars. They didn't draw their weapons, but their hands remained in close proximity as they approached the front door. The front porch was already crowded, with a squad of heavily-armed soldiers standing guard while another squad searched the van across the street.
"Officers," Colonel Clegg said curtly with a nod as the two policemen warily walked up to the front porch.
"We received a report that shots were fired in the area," one of the officers said slowly.
"You were informed correctly," Colonel Clegg told them, swinging the door open wider so that they could see the two dead mercs on the floor. "There is one more corpse in the other room, in addition to one survivor that will require supervised medical attention."
"What the hell happened?" the other officer asked amazement.
"We received credible intelligence that one of our officers in Afghanistan was being targeted by extremists," Colonel Clegg replied blandly. "We assigned a security detail to his son, which turned out to be a good thing."
There were people appearing all over the street as curious neighbors came out to investigate the unusual disturbance in their quiet neighborhood.
"They don't look like extremists," the first officer noted with a raised eyebrow as he studied the dead men in tactical gear as his partner spoke with their dispatch office. "They look like mercs."
"You former military?" Colonel Clegg asked curiously.
"Yep," the officer replied with a nod. "Four years in Iraq. I've seen enough security contractors to recognize a hit team when I see it."
"I'd leave that assessment to your detectives," Colonel Clegg advised him gravely. "This is one mess you don't want to get tangled up in."
"That's a pretty good security detail," the officer said admiringly as he looked closer at the two corpses. "One shot to the head each, and under fire from the looks of it."
"Thanks," Sergeant Lynch said with a nod.
He studied Sergeant Lynch with a look of admiration and then blushed when some of the other soldiers started snickering.
"I don't think you'll be going to the dance tonight," Sergeant Barreto informed Cody as another half dozen police cruisers and an ambulance arrived.
"Did you want to be the one to tell Heidi she needs to find another date?" Cody asked Sergeant Barreto wryly.
"You're Heidi's date tonight?" Colonel Clegg asked Cody in surprise.
"Well...I was," Cody replied slowly, waving his hand at the dead men, "before this party started."
The police officer's gaze lasered in on Cody as soon as Heidi's name was mentioned. Most of the police force was aware that Heidi was capable of superhuman acts, though most of them believed she was involved in some kind of military black project.
Colonel Clegg nodded, then pulled out his cell phone and walked back to the front room.
"What about the general that combusted tonight?" Cody asked Sergeant Lynch curiously. "Heidi isn't going to stop at one-"
"Quiet, mouth," Sergeant Barreto interrupted him with a meaningful glance at the police officers watching them interestedly.
Cody blinked and then blushed. "Sorry."
"That's alright," Sergeant Lynch told him with a soft punch to his shoulder. "You have a right to be a little shaken up tonight."
The former soldier turned policeman was watching the three of them keenly, his eyes calculating. "Trouble inside the wire tonight?"
"Not for us," Sergeant Barreto replied enigmatically with a shrug.
Another Humvee pulled up a moment later and Sergeant Barreto groaned as Heidi and Colonel Rockwell exited the vehicle. "This is turning into a serious clusterfuck."
Two paramedics were in the act of wheeling the lone survivor out of the room when Heidi stopped them.
"Please step aside, young lady. We need to get this man to a hospital," one of the paramedics told Heidi insistently.
Heidi ignored him. A moment later, all eyes turned to Heidi as she transformed into full god mode. Both paramedics backed away nervously as the superhuman presence permeated the area around her. The wounded man was staring at her in abject terror as her overcharged gaze studied him. With an annoyed sigh, Heidi put her hand to his forehead. A loud boom shook the ground and the man gasped, his back arching in a spasm. A moment later, he slowly sat up, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"From now on, you serve me," Heidi told him firmly. "Is that clear?"
The man nodded quickly, his wide eyes filled with a mixture of emotions—confusion, awe and hope.
Heidi walked passed him into the house, surrounded by a dumbfounded silence. She knelt down next to the two corpses in the doorway and placed a hand on each one. There were two more deafening booms that shook the house. Green and red lights arced around the corpses as a static hum filled the silence. The hum grew louder until everyone began covering their ears in an attempt to block out the painful buzz.
The deafening buzz suddenly stopped, and a moment later both men began to stir. Astonished gasps swept through the crowd of spectators as both men sat up. They stared around at the crowd in confusion and then alarm as they felt the full force of Heidi's presence hit them.
"Do you remember where you were?" Heidi asked them intensely.
"It was dark;" one of them mumbled, "dark and cold."
"Do you wish to return?" Heidi asked, her voice as cold as the grave.
"No!" both men shouted at the same time, their voices filled with anxiety.
"Then from this day forth, you will serve me," Heidi told them firmly. "I have brought you back to serve a higher cause than money—don't make me regret it."
"Yes ma'am," they both replied quickly. "Just don't make us go back there again."
"That choice is in your hands now," Heidi told them, standing up and moving toward the back of the house.
Sergeant Barreto stared at Sergeant Lynch and saw the same expression of shock on her partner's face that she knew must be on her own. A moment later there was an additional boom.
"What the hell is going on here?" one of the police officers finally asked in a shaky voice. "Did she just bring those men back from the dead?"
"So it would appear," Colonel Clegg answered, sounding troubled. "I would suggest you and your men write this incident off as a hoax and leave."
"I wish it were that easy," the officer said nervously.
"I'm just making a suggestion," Colonel Clegg said with a shrug. "If you would rather wait for Heidi to come up with a different suggestion, feel free to hang around. I'm pretty sure you won't be going anywhere with the men she just brought back from the dead though."
The officer hesitated for a moment and then nodded when he heard Heidi's voice begin speaking to the last member of the recently-departed hit team. "I don't get paid enough to deal with this kind of shit. I'll let my CO deal with it."
"Wise decision," Colonel Clegg smiled at the policeman. "That goes for the rest of you too. Head back to base."
The stunned looking soldiers snapped out of their trance-like state and saluted before heading back out to their Humvees.