Beginnings by
Shatterhead
About a mile away from the warehouse a man sat and looked at the television.
Same old news he thought, nothing new. The people changed but the stories
always seemed to stay the same. At least until this morning, he hoped. Today
the Program should have some information to use towards their new project.
He shut off the television and checked his watch, it said 5:00 a.m. Where
is he, he thought. He really should know better. As if
on cue there was a knock on his office door.
Enter, he said.
A strong looking man in a suit walked into the room. He walked up to the
desk the man was seated at, raised his hand and saluted him. Good morning
sir, I have some news.
The man seated behind the desk looked at the younger man and said B,
I have told you before to stop with that saluting bullshit. I really better
not have to tell you again.
Old habits die hard s
..Mister A
Thats better, now what do you have for me? I really expected
news sooner than this. said the gray haired man.
Sorry, Mr. A. The clean up took longer than we thought it would. Of
course it was also hard to pinpoint the exact location that the bounty hunter
used.
So your assessment of the mission was that it was successful?
asked Mr. A
I would say that under the circumstances we did very good. Of course
theres always room for improvement. Replied the younger Mr. B.
Give me the report B., said the older man.
We recovered the package exactly where it was supposed to be. There
was no sign of the bounty hunter. The package had the blood samples and all
of the doctors paperwork as promised.
The older man looked at him and waited for him to continue.
There was a Spanish gang banger there named Javier Arroyo, he was handed
over to local P.D., there was a warrant out for his arrest. Also found at
the location were Luscious Washington and Hugo Lorenzi. They were two local
goons, one from a Haitian gang the other from the Mafia.
Found dead? Not at the hands of our group? he asked.
Well, it appears the heroine Whisper may have had something to do with
it. Arroyo said that she told him to kill the others in order to save her
friends. Who knows if thats true though.
And the status of Volkovs pet? I understand it escaped and is
currently roaming the streets of the city? The younger man cringed
at the comment.
Heading north through the sewer system. I did not dispatch the team
to recover it. I put priority on getting the package back and debriefing
you. Was that not the correct protocol to follow?
Actually I think the mission went off very successfully B. Let the
dog go, I believe its heading north back to its daddys house. The video
and computer files were received about 4 hours ago. A team is dissecting
it now. Get the samples to the lab and go home. Weve all had a long
night.
One more thing, if I may sir. Sorry, Mr. A. I hope that what we are
doing is right, do you ever doubt this mission?
The older man looked at him and could tell how uneasy he was to have even
thought about this question. You know what? They give us a job and
we do it. Things will get much uglier before they get better, I hope you
realize that B. If not you may want to re-think your being here. Not that
you have a choice anymore of course. We need their information for the better
good of society. We need to understand what were up against. Now go
home and get some sleep.
Thank you. The man walked out.
Mr. A sat there and thought about what the man had said. He did have regrets
about signing on. Maybe he was getting old. He was in his early 50s
now and had been doing this type of work for a long time. The women helped
people, they saved people, they were good, but they had something they needed.
He didnt know what, but he knew they had to have it and would do anything
to get it. Damn shame he though.
A car pulled up to a house about 35 miles out side of Tempo City as the sun
began to make its ascent into the sky. The car door swung open and the man
getting out studied the street. No one here, he thought. He closed
the car door as slowly as possible and climbed the steps without making a
sound. Again, he scanned the street and saw nothing. He tried the door and
smiled as it popped open. Just as expected, he smiled and quietly
entered the dark home.
He was very careful not to make a sound as he checked each room he entered.
He saw a light on and walked towards the room. There was a blond woman in
a silk robe at the kitchen sink. The man walked towards her and was no longer
worried about being quiet.
She turned around and jumped. You almost gave me a heart attack.
she said as he put his arms around her and kissed her.
You left the door open and I thought Id surprise you. He
answered.
The kids missed you. How was the trip? Are they sending you away anytime
soon or is this it for a while now? She asked.
I think I did good enough this time so that Ill be home for awhile
now honey. But believe me when I say I think I do my job so good that I think
they want to kill me.
Hey the kids will be sleeping for a little while longer, do you want
to? his wife asked him.
You know any other time I would baby. But honestly, Im spent.
How about a rain check?
Ok, you go get some sleep. Said the wife.
Thanks, with that he kissed her and turned around towards the
stairs.
The bounty hunter known as the Cloud climbed the steps and headed for the
shower.
One week later as the late summer sun sank below the horizon three women
stood together on the top of the Tempo City insurance building in midtown.
Anyone hear from Midnight? asked Whisper.
No replied Lightning. I havent heard anything. I
mean after the ordeal she went through I guess she just needed to get away
for a little while.
Listen, Ive been thinking about something and I wanted to talk
about it. Here goes she thought. We have been active for a while
now in this town. After Tempest disappeared we all filled the void, and
weve been successful. Think about how successful we could be if we
were a team? Together we could make life so hard for all the scum in this
city. Besides that, with these strange creatures popping up every once in
while now like the one that we saw it makes sense to work together? Doesnt
it. Lets be a team Lightning looked at the other two ladies for
a response. Surprisingly it was Dragon who answered.
I can set up a web-site that will allow us to communicate with each
other. This way itll be easier to share information and to set up meetings.
As far as becoming a team, I dont know I have to think about it.
Thats all I can say right now.
Whisper looked at Dragon and then back towards Lightning. She was used to
being alone, she had been divorced for 9 years now and had no family and
only a few inconsequential friends. Maybe this should be her new family.
Lets think about it Lightning. Were so used to fighting
alone-that bounty hunter knew we wouldnt work good together. I need
some time. Besides Im not going to go for any kind of cheesy name.
Ladies listen to me. The three of us along with Midnight can be a huge
boost for this city. The four of us can learn to work together so that we
can all become more effective crime fighters. Let that night last week be
our beginning!
Dragon and Whisper looked at the blond woman standing before them. She radiated
power. She was unbelievably beautiful. Her short blond hair blew backwards
in the breeze and she stood with her hands on her hips. She put her hand
out towards the other two with her palm facing up.
Whisper threw her hand on top of Lightnings.
Dragon threw her hand on top of the other two.
A team had been born.
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