Chapter 55 - The Most Dangerous Game
“Wake up Arkis!” A man hollers.
Before I can even lift my head off of the table, a book slams down next to my head; the loud thud resents through the table. I slowly raise my head, I wipe away the drool from my chin.
“Sorry, the past few days have been very long. That last mission just dragged on, should’ve had it done in just under two days, but the bastard just kept on running.” I let loose a powerful yawn and start to stretch out.
“Sounds like a personal problem, now stay awake. Ice Cube is late as usual, so we’ll just begin without him. You had first hand experience with the Horrors back in Germany; the media has dubbed it ‘Ground Zero’.” He picks up what I thought was a book up, but instead its a folder thicker then a phone book.
“Ground Zero? Catchy. The guys down in the labs have any luck with creating a vaccine for the virus yet?”
“Not yet, but their research has yielded some fruit though, before you and Ice Cube leave for your next mission, you should go pay them a visit. But, we need to debrief you so that you make your flight. What do you know about Horrors? About the virus itself?” He sets the folder down on his desk and I lean back in my chair.
“The Horrors themselves, tough sons of bitches, meaner than a pissed off rattlesnake, they tend to hunt in packs; but will also hunt individually. They’re extremely intelligent; probably varies from person to person. Incredibly strong senses, my money is on their sense of smell. It would put any trained K9’s noses to shame. They click, a lot... I don’t know why though. For the virus, all I know is that’s extremely aggressive, and the infected seems to only last no longer than a week.”
“And yet you’ve lasted for over two months now, how is that?” I smugly grin and fold my hands together.
“You can thank my parents for that, I was born with an incredibly strong immune system. Sure, whatever the boys down in the lab have given me to fight against the virus might be doing something, but its all me baby.”
“I know you don’t watch the news at all, but let me fill you in on what you’ve missed. The U.S.A. and U.K. have set up decontamination camps, trying to cure the already infected. Australia has shut down its air and seaports, refusing to accept any refuges that escape from their countries, fleeing for their lives. U.K., U.S.A., China, and Japan has called an armistice on the their little squabble over a deposit of highly concentrated yellow cake uranium located under the northern ice cap in unclaimed territory. They joined forces, creating an elite group called C.E.L.L., C.E.L.L. has been created to prevent the infection from spreading any further into East Europe; all the information I have for you about C.E.L.L at this particular time.”
“As long as you don’t turn into one of them, our friends see no reason on terminating your contract. Do you know who created the virus to begin with?” He opens the folder, flipping through a few pages before coming to a stop.
“I don’t, all I know it was created in Germany during the second cold war. Our friends sent me in there to retrieve the data from the bunker, ended up fighting my way though a shit storm.”
“Dr. Freeman was the first one who started the research in the bunker, he closed up shop way before you took care of Artyom Volkov. His son followed very closely in his footsteps, after Dr. Freeman disappeared from the face of the earth; literally, the man is a ghost, he completely dropped off the grid.”
“Okay, go on.”
“The thing you have going on with Alex Orlov, she knows where Warwick is at, our friends need you to pay her a ‘little’ visit.”
“If our friends want me to call one of my contacts, they know the price.”
“The funds have already been transferred into your accounts.”
“Alright, is there anything I should know about Warwick Freeman?” He licks the top of his finger and thumbs through the folder for a few pages.
“Glad that you asked. Mother and older sister died in some freak accident when he was young, other siblings; unknown. Master Sergeant Freeman, joined up as soon as he turned 18, climbed the ladder fast; what takes most fifteen years to become Master Sergeant, it only took him nine. He went private and started working for our friends after some “persuasion”, his pet project was to create some superior biological weapon; he said it would make anthrax look like the common cold.”
“Let me guess, he went rogue and our friends want to me find him bring him back in or take care of it?”
“Yes, if you can’t bring him in alive, you know what you’re supposed to do. He titled his pet project “Redemption”, I don’t know why though, he did some inhumane testing on orphans and bums; things that would make Adolf Hitler look like Mahatma Gandhi; the guy was a freaking monster if you ask me.
“Men’s hearts hold tainted secrets more darker than any creature. Some embrace these secrets, most keep them buried away, praying that they’ll never see the light of day.” The door swings open, in walks Ice Cube, fashionably late.
“What’d I miss?” I tilt my head back to see Ice already lighting up a cigarette.
“You know smoking is going to kill you, right?” He removes the match from his smoke and looks down at me.
“What can’t kill you these days? For Christ sakes, air can kill you! You know the little air bubbles in the IVs? Too much air can make your heart to explode!” His match burns his finger, he drops it and curses at it.
“Class dismissed, Arkis can fill you in on the flight to China, have a fun trip, boys.” I get up from my chair and walk out the door, Ice lights his smoke and follows.
My sleep deprived body sluggishly obeys my commands to walk, before leaving HQ we stop at the coffee cart and I ordered a black coffee with triple shot espresso in it. Ice continues to smoke himself to death, not really doing much besides being quite. Coffee is taking longer than expected so we just stand there, I hear whispers coming from behind us, I block out the unwanted chatter from everything else and focused on the whispers.
“Hey, isn’t that Arkis?” My ears start to burn.
“Yeah, I think so... That guy freaks me out.” A younger female says.
“Yeah, I don’t blame you. I don’t know why the agency even keeps him around. He’s trouble if you ask me.” My coffee is finally finished, I take a swig of it; bitter and strong.
“You know that shit can kill you, right?” Ice finishes his smoke in record time.
“The sun can kill you, I rarely drink the stuff, I needed the pick up.”
“You can get some sleep on the plane after you debrief me.” We walk and talk away from the coffee cart.
“I don’t know, some dead guy I think. How’s it been buddy old pal?” I quietly chuckle and meet him with a firm handshake.
“He’s a slippery son of a bitch, every time we get a scent on his trail, everyone gets cold feet about taking this mission.
“So, the agency thought I would be the right person for the job? How many?”
“How many what?”
“How many agents have they sent to bring him in?” Ice comes to a dead stop, hesitant to answer the question.
“You’ll be the tenth.” We start walking again, but my head is forcibly jerked in one direction, causing me to walk into a pillar.
“Wakie wakie, Horror!” A child’s voice rings out in my mind, I back up away from the wall rubbing my forehead.
“Hehe, what was that all about? Too much Irish in your coffee this morning?” Ice continues to laugh while I shake my head.
“I don’t know, must’ve tripped over something.” I stumble backwards, spilling hot coffee over myself.
“Come on Horror! It’s time to rise and shine!” Another child’s voice calls out. I fall backwards and bang my head on the floor.
- - -
I’m rudely awakened by the girls, they’re pushing me back and forth, barely able to make me budge an inch. Tail seems to be enjoying the attention though, he too is trying to get me out of bed so we can start another fun-filled day. I bury my head in the fluffy cloud pillows, trying to hide from the morning.
“No, wake up Horror!” My body aches, my eyes still feel like they’re on fire. I’ve only gotten roughly a few hours at best of sleep.
I roll over onto my back, the girls jump on my chest and try to remove the pillow from my face. The pillow comes off and I open my eyes for a split second, but snap them shut as I’m blinded by the searing pain that’s brought on by the dimmest of light; grunting in pain, I clamp my hands over my eyes.
“Aww, what’s wrong Horror? Your eyes still bothering you?” I nod my head.
“We’re sorry to hear that, but come on, daddy wants to speak with you.” Fizz grabs one horn and Lizz grabs the other, they flap their tiny wings trying to lift my heavy body off the bed.
I push myself out of bed with the girls’ help, I crawled blindly through the room; not even bothering to use my sonar, trusting the leadership of the girls. Lizz perched herself on my head, holding onto my horns and pulling on them to tell me which way to turn. Both Stella and Fizz sat upon my back, enjoying the free ride. Tail opens the door for me, I crawled to the edge of the staircase and took the first step. Slowly, but surely, I made it down the steps without tumbling down them.
“Now that’s just adorable, you girls should’ve let Horror sleep, the poor thing has only had three hours of sleep; he must be exhausted.” I nod, Lizz bounces on my head; she squeals in delightment.
I lay down on the floor; ice quickly forms underneath my body; it’s cold slick surface feels good against my tired body. Stella and Fizz jump up and down on my back, trying to get me to move but I don’t budge. Tail gently wraps around the two of them and pulls them off my back and sets them down next to me; he reaches for Lizz but she clings to my horns for dear life.
“No, I don’t wanna! Bad Horror!” She scolds Tail, he shamefully hangs his tip and backs away.
“Come on down Lizz, how about you girls go into the kitchen and make yourself some breakfast. Horror and I will be joining you shortly, I just need to have a quick word with him.” Fizz and Stella fly into the kitchen, Lizz gives me one quick pat on the head before flying off to join her older sister and her friend.
“Come along, Horror.” Uncle orders, just a few quick clicks to get the layout of the room. He walks to a door and opens it, he steps into his study and I follow.
We enter the room and I click a few more times to get the mental picture of the room. Tail pushes the door closed, he walks around to behind his desk and sets down. I hear him opening a drawer and pulls out a small ledger book and opens it up.
“So, about your payment, how should we go about doing this? Silver being your...” He stops to think over what to say next, but I finish his sentence before he can.
“Mistress, Master, Friend, Owner, Handler, any of those work; I preferred Handler. She does not control me, but she has a big influence on my action.” He’s thrown off guard by my sudden outburst, he quickly recovers before continuing.
“I keep on forgetting that you can speak... Handler works I guess... So about your payment, how should we go about this? Should I just pay Silver or what?”
“Will, she might be my handler, but I would preferred if you just held onto the bits for when I actually need the bits; you know, for a rainy day.” My response grants me a smile from him.
“You’re pretty smart, aren't you? How about this, what if I took your earnings and invested them into a ‘flourishing” business’?” His offer peaks my interest.
“Sounds like an interesting idea, worst possible outcome is this ‘business’ you speak of, it crashes and burns. What if I wait, let’s say, I don’t know, roughly seven to ten years. What then?”
“This ‘business’ I have high hopes for, it’s a small clinic in Trottingham. Completely funded out of my and possibly your pocket. A trusted doctor of the Family and his rather, exotic assistant came to me about this idea of theirs; I liked it and thought I could use the good karma.” Exotic assistant and a trusted doctor, I might know who these colorful folk might be.
“One could never have enough ‘good’ karma, but continue.”
“If everything goes as planned, the clinic will become completely self-sustaining; making enough revenue to keep itself afloat and still making a profit. So, let’s do say you don’t collect on your share for a few years, and the clinic thrives, then you’ll have one hell of a nest egg.” He picks something up off his desk and taps it against a small glass well; maybe a quill into a inkwell?
“Okay, count me in, put everything I earn into this, might aswell go big or go home.” His smile grows even larger and he writes down my answer.
“Excellent, welcome aboard, partner.” I hear him raise up out of his chair and leans over the desk; just a quick couple of clicks and I see him extending his right talon out for a handshake, I reach out and firmly shake his talon.
“If I may ask, who can access my funds if this clinic goes as you planned?”
“Okay, what did you have in mind? Or whom?”
“I would like it if Silver Wing to have full access to the funds; if she ever needs too. Oh, one more person, well pony. her name is Cloud.” I hear his quill clatter against the desk and fall to the ground.
“Did you just say Cloud? Pegasus, sky blue eyes and mane, white coat, aggressive, gets the job done no matter what?” Wow, I’m blown away, he hit that nail right on the head.
“Yeah, you know her?” He lets out a hearty laugh.
“Know her? She’s one of my best employees! That mare has a knack for this job, I tell you what. How do you two know each other?” Either God, Flying Spaghetti Monster, or whomever or whatever has finally decided to throw me a freaking bone for once; that, or my bad luck has finally ran out.
“Well, what Silver has told you isn't technically true about my origin story. Me being born in Unyasi is both true and false; the horns and tail you see that I have I’ve obtained while I was in Unyasi. When I originally came to Equestria I woke up in this facility that nearly killed me while they put me through test after test. I ended up killing the overseer of the facility during my escape and I meet his son in Unyasi after I was ‘reborn’. Cloud was a ‘reward’ I obtained back in the facility by the helpful hoof by a pony named ‘Doctor Helping Hoof’. She and I went through thick and thin, we parted ways when I went to Unyasi, but I’ve been trying to track her down ever since I’ve returned to Equestria.”
“Looks like I might be able to help you then, I know where she is.” Yeah, my luck is finally starting to turn itself around.
“Where?!” I jump up onto his desk, I hear him scooting back in his chair in surprisement.
“Easy boy! She’s in Talonpolis with Razor, they’re currently paying the Don a visit. Our friend Cloud has been going up and beyond even the Family’s best employees. The Don himself requested a sit-down with her. Never in my entire career have I ever seen the Don ask for a sit-down with somebody who wasn't a Underboss like myself; Cloud has a very bright future if she continues along this path.” Tail wraps himself around my right horn and yanks me off his desk with ease.
“Okay, okay, I’m cool now, you can let go, Tail.” Tail lets go and smacks me on top of my head; is he really scolding me? Really?”
“Razor and Cloud will be in Talonpolis for a about a week, you’ll have plenty of time to go there and reunite with her. Come on, it’s about time we get you back to Silver, she’s probably worried sick about you.” I turn my head and click to find the door, Tail opens it and I crawl out with Uncle following right behind me
“Girls, I got to take Horror home back to Aunty Silver, I’ll be back in a bit!” One click reveals the girls bolting towards me from the kitchen archway, a second one shows them even closer, the third one is just a blur as the girls glomp me just seconds after Uncle finished speaking.
The girls dog pile on me, Lizz clings around my neck, Stella and Fizz around both of my arms; the squeeze as tight as their small arms allowed them to. I sit down and grab the girls and return the hug.
“Bye Horror! Come back and play with us, ‘kay?” Fizz muffled voice calls out from my chest.
“That’s enough girls, Aunty Silver is waiting for us.” I give the girls one good squeeze before letting them go.
“You’re the coolest pet ever, Horror!” Stella says cheerfully.
I hear Uncle open the front door, I turn around and let loose a rapid fire of clicks; creating a mental imprint of the of the front hallway. I exit the house with Tail closing the door behind us, we walked through the streets while I clicked; I’m already uneased walking on frozen clouds, but now I’m walking blinded, and at best a ten foot range sonar with poor detailing past five feet. The bridge connecting the high class house with Cloudsdale comes up, Uncle walks over it without a care in the word; I on the other hand stay at the foot of the bridge; scared out of my mind to cross it.
“Come along Horror, it’s not like the bridge is going evaporate right from under you.” He hollers out, I put one hand on the bridge, testing it and it holds.
I release a burst of clicks, making sure everything seems solid. I back up a few steps, I take a deep breath before bolting cross the bridge. I clear the bridge in under a second, Uncle laughs as I skate past him on frozen clouds. He retakes the lead and we continue to walk back to the HQ, without incidence we make it back to the HQ. The door opens and we’re bombarded by the sound of Silver and Hyper Crasher arguing, again.
“If it wasn't for Lighting Charmer, you’d be at the bottom of one of the Great Nimbusgait Lakes!” Silver retorts.
“Just because you’re daddy is higher up in the food chain doesn’t make you any better than I!” Hyper sneers. I wonder what they’re arguing about, I best stay low so I don’t get caught in the crossfire.
“Oh yeah? Let’s see who’s better at picking guys up!” Tail closes the door, I hear their necks nearly snapping as their heads jerk over to us.
“Horror, come!” Silver orders. Fuck, looks like my luck never turned itself around.
I let out a few clicks to find my way around the HQ as Silver and Hyper shot daggers at each other. It doesn’t take us long to reach the back room were Silver and I spent few hours fooling around. Silver closes the door behind us and I hear her lock it.
“Okay, first of all, why are you clicking?” She asks.
“I’m blind, unicorn magic hates me...” I hang my head low, the bell around my neck jingles.
“Aww, Demon baby, you poooor thing!” Hyper goes to hug me, but Tail blocks his path.
“I don’t think it’s permanent, but everytime I open my eyes, it burns like hell.” Hyper backs up and returns to Silver’s side, I set down and waited for hell to rain down upon my head.
“Okay, here’s the rules, whomever can get Horror hard wins. If I win, you’ll have to sleep with someone of the opposite sex, and I get to pick who you stick ‘it’ to! To prove that you did, you’ll have to bring back some naughty undergarment, if you can’t do this, you’ll owe me ten thousand bits.” Oh sweet baby Jesus no... Why does everyone’s shenanigans have deal with me?
“I can accept that, and If I win... I’ll get Demon baby for the night, without any interruptions.” Mother of god no! Why me of all people?
“D-Do I get a say in this?” I ask, awkwardly sitting in the middle of the room.
“NO!” They both yell in unison.
“Since I’m such a good sport, I’ll let you go first, Hyper.” Tail wraps around me, he and I just cower together.
“Okay, let’s get started, shall we Demon baby?” I don’t like that tone of voice he’s using, not one bit.
He trots up next to me, he props himself on my shoulder and starts to whisper into my ear.
“I-I can’t do this, Hy-.” I whimper, he nips at my ear, shutting me the hell up.
“Sure you can, I’ll show you how.” He purrs.
“No Hyper, I’ve nev-.” His warm breath licks at my skin, creating goose bumps on my neck.
“I’ll be the best you’ve ever had. I don’t care how many mares you’ve slept with. Hundreds, thousands, one time with me, you won’t remember a single one of them. I mean it, Demon baby.” My own body betrays me, given into his temptation.
“And it looks like I win.” He coos, Silver looks down to see me pitching a tent.
“W-What? I-I lost?” I’m sorry Silver, I truly am.
Credits
Editor
frieD195