Clair’s Ranch:
“What are you guys going to do about Nickolas Kuznetsov?” Clair looks at Jack and Nick when she asks that question.

“The matter is being taken care of as we speak.” Jack sent one of his special agents. One that was quick and deadly.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go yourself to handle the problem.” Clair knew the old Jack would have gone to handle the problem.

“You don’t use a nuclear device to kill a fly.” Nick knew what would happen if he or Jack went.

Gina smirks when she hears Nick call her father a nuclear device. She knew her father had some killer gas when he ate certain things. God knows, he could clear a room when he cuts one.

Jack noticed the smirk on his daughter’s face. He winks at her because he knows what she is thinking. He reaches down and scratches Cadmus between his ears.

Clair noticed the interaction between Jack and his daughter and smiled. She looked towards Nick and noticed he noticed as well.

“Where do you want to send the ladies to train if I propose to them about forming a team?” Clair looks towards Jack and Nick for an answer.

“Don’t bother to ask them. They have more important things to do now.” Gina knew her father and, more likely, her Uncle Nick had other things they left either to her or to someone else.

Both men look at Gina after making that statement. “And where would you want them to go training, young lady?” Nick watches Gina’s facial reaction.

“The new training town I have established to train my agents at the Phoenix Foundation. Not only will they learn how to fight in an urban setting, but they will learn how to keep collateral damages to a minimum.”

“But they will need more than urban survival training, Gina. They will need to learn how to survive in the desert, jungle, and arctic environments. Remember your training?” Jack looks at his daughter to remind her.

“Got it covered, dad. The Phoenix Foundation has restored and upgraded some of the old towns to provide training that can simulate those environments. However, we have training centers or areas to train our agents in those environments.”

“What do you mean simulate those environments?” Clair was curious about that statement.

“The Phoenix Foundation employs people with unique abilities that can create those environments.” Gina had a few people she employed to do just that.

“That sounds like it would be fun.” Clair liked that idea.

“It is to a certain degree. The trainers I employ are specialists in their field and can make the course easy or very difficult for you.” Gina ensured everyone she employed was either a specialist in their field or had unique qualifications.

“Well, first, you must get the ladies together and ask them if they are interested. Also, I would invite that Becky lady as well. From what I saw, she handles herself in combat. She would be a good addition to your team. Maybe she can do something with some of the vehicles Dave built by either upgrading or improving on them.” Nick was thinking about all their old equipment in the Den and at the privately owned storage marine storage.

“Do you still want to keep the dangerous items in the vault here if the team becomes operational?” Clair knew they had a lot of dangerous items locked away.

“Yes, other than bringing the den up to date with new technology. There’s no reason to open the vault door at all.” Nick emphasizes the word never.

Everything behind the vault door was extremely dangerous, and I should never see the light of day again. Jack and Nick were the only two people on their team who could open it, and not even Clair could.

“So, you two are fine with me starting a team here?”

“Yes, Gina will funnel money from the special project funds to provide you with operational money. Any funds you recover on a mission, you can do what we did when we first started out.” Nick still had accounts that were used for all the operational teams.

“How much should I tell the team they will receive for each job we do?” Clair knew the team use to pay her and everyone else.

“Three thousand dollars per week per person for each mission you guys take on. As always, all your medical needs are taken care of. That includes eye, teeth, health insurance, and whatever else the person needs. If your people don’t want the stipend, it will be put into a retirement fund for them.”

“That will work. The ladies could use the money.” Clair knew she did when she joined Jack’s team.

“Are any of them hurting for money?” Gina needed to know this information.

“No, but Washington D.C. and Alexandria are expensive.”

Cave Spring, Georgia:
Deanna and Joker were facing down six people dressed in black hi-tech tactical gear. Deanna knew a new hi-tech crew was working in Georgia, and these clowns attacked one of the clans her group got together with.

“WATCH OUT!” Deanna/ Lucan fires two wrist-mounted mini darts from her wrist toward a huge guy aiming his gun toward Joker’s back.

Lucan gets hit from behind by one of the people she had been fighting. She feels the electrical discharge as it penetrates the metallic surface of her armor. The heads-up display flickers as the energy plays havoc with the electronics in her suit.

Her hud display flickers as she spins around and punches the guy in the chest. She follows up with a kick to his body, but her foot is caught and thrown backward. Deanna manages to stop herself from falling backward. She looks at the fellow she is fighting and notices it is the biggest one
in the group. He held a doubled-bladed battle-ax in his hands. The blades were crackling with blue color energy.

Deanna slides a round silver cylinder off her utility belt and press a hidden button in the middle. The cylinder expands into a six-foot-tall polearm. She twirls the polearm. “Let’s play, big boy.”

Deanna blocks a swing towards her with the polearm. She could feel this prick's strength as she stopped the double-bladed axe. She could feel
the energy coming off the ax through her staff. She twists the polearm, forcing the guy to step away from her. She spins the polearm and confuses the guy. She touches another hidden button, and a bright light is emitted from the polearm.

She sweeps the blinded guy's legs out from under him and watches as he falls. Deanna is knocked off her feet by a grenade exploding against her armor. She tries to gather her bearings as another grenade explodes against her armor. She spots the prick firing at her with a strange-
looking weapon. She brings her left arm to bear and fires the remaining mini-darts at her attacker.

The darts explode on impact, sending the person falling backward. Deanna uses the polearm to help her stand up and notices the guy she was fighting is getting up. She moves in and strikes him with her polearm.

The polearm is brushed aside as the guy raises his right arm and blocks her attack. He manages to get up with the help of his axe. He looks at the silver armor individual in front of him. He swings his axe at the person and is blocked by the polearm again. Except this time, he sends a charge from the axe through the polearm.

The hud display inside the armor flickers as another electrical charge courses throughout the armor. Deanna watches as several of her systems start turning red from damage.

“Fuck!” Deanna grabs the guy’s arm tightly and spins around with him. She sends him flying towards another one of his buddies.

Little wisps of smoke were coming from the joints of the armor. The suit’s circuitry was damaged in certain areas. Deanna could smell the brunt insulation in her armor’s helmet.

While Deanna was busy fighting one of the huge guys, Joker was having her own fun with several others. The warning Deanna had saved her life. She plucked several green balls from inside her jacket and threw them at several attackers.

An evil smile appeared on her face as the contents of the balls exploded and coated the guys in a fast-acting yellowish, snot-looking substance. The stuff was so strong that the guys who got hit by them couldn’t escape from the substance.

“God, that felt good. Man, my nose is feeling better.” Joker looks at Lucan and notices she is done fighting the two pricks that had teamed up against her.

Joker walks over towards Lucan and looks at her. Her armor had dents in it from the guy with the axe had managed to hit her. She could also smell brunt electrical insulation.

“Fired some systems, did we?” A smile appears on Joker’s face.

“What’s this we part? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?” Deanna looks at Joker.

“As a matter of fact, I do.” Joker pulls a mouse out of her jacket pocket and pet it.

Deanna shakes her head as she contacts the state police to come and pick their attackers up.