Book 37 of The Lyssa Kordenay Missions!   Training continues for the recruits   now they venture into the field   but reality lurks everywhere!   WARNING: The Lyssa Kordenay Missions may be hyper-violent for some readers!

 

 

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CHAPTER 1

Lyssa ran quickly then jumped over the narrow gorge, landing on the other side then a few yards past leaped up to catch a branch and began climbing up the tree. Fifteen feet up she tied a length of 550 paracord to a branch and climbed back down. Within five minutes she'd dug a shallow hole and set a noose inside it secured to a peg then covered the trap with forest litter and sanitized the area leaving one set of tracks going through it. Satisfied with the snare she continued onward. The Balkan territories weren't a usual territory to operate in but it was a good substitute for other places and they had two hundred square miles to themselves.

Two objectives in one exercise; field forensics and counter-insurgency. This was the trainees first field exercise. The risk of identification was zero now that they'd all had facial surgery. They'd been in the field chasing Lyssa for five days. All of which she'd been leading them on a grand chase, up sheer cliffs and down waterfalls. Traversing mountains and rivers. Lyssa held nothing back doubling back at night to harass them when they tried to sleep. Rodrick routinely called in over the radios and asked them questions or gave instructions. Kimberly also contacted them via satellite link and held no warning classes and evaluations.

The task was straight-forward; track Lyssa over the terrain and avoid detection by any and all locals. The locals deemed hostile non-combatants and engagement was forbidden. In short, they were to be ghosts chasing a phantom. It was an exercise conducted by Delta Force's DemonWraith platoon all over the world after the Operators were certified to operate in that environment. This was the first, Lyssa had more grueling settings in the future for them. Jungle was next and she'd use the Amazon instead of Panama followed by a trip to Canada for Arctic operations then Georgia for swamps and finally Moab for desert. She sat down on a rocky outcrop and looked for them with binoculars.

 

~o~O~o~
 

Krystel swore loudly, "Fucking Lyssa and her damn traps! Get me DOWN!"

Shawna climbed up the tree and put her own weight on the branch bowing it downward. When Krystel was on the ground Tiffany gripped the cord and cut Krystel loose then carefully eased the branch up to not throw Shawna off.

"I warned you about getting in a hurry when her tracks were obvious," Tiffany reminded.

Krystel felt the back of her head for lumps, "yeah. My mistake, she got me good."

Shawna looked at her, "never know when you'll need to be in the field so you've got to learn how to be in it and not get waxed."

"I know I know I know. Me on point is a lousy idea. I suck at it," she protested.

Tiffany helped her up, "precisely why you're on point. Can't read a book to learn it. its OJT as Lyssa says. On Job Training. Its how we learned too so just dust yourself off and remember what it looked like before you set it off so you can avoid it in the future and remember; she's taking it easy on us. DemonWraiths go full out. Their traps can kill and have."

Krystel picked up the assault rifle, "I wouldn't know about that."

Shawna passed over Krystel's dropped hat, "Tiff does so listen to her."

They all drank some water then moved out again with Krystel on point, Shawna in the middle and Tiffany as rear guard. Krystel still didn't understand how Tiffany and Shawna detected the booby-traps so easily, as if they had a sixth sense about them. Finally they reached the high rocks and found three oranges waiting for them.

"Wise ass," Krystel commented.

Tiffany and Shawna said nothing but waited. Krystel reached for one but stopped with her hand hovering just above them and backed off.

"Its a trap," she said with a hiss and looked around.

A moment later she came back with a long stick and reached out with it to knock the oranges apart. A long limb streaked up from the ground and swatted at the rock where the oranges sat. Tiffany and Shawna clapped.

"Well done. When it looks inviting and easy; its anything but," Tiffany stated.

Shawna chimed in," only trust what you earn. Always look the gift horse in the mouth and you'll never get a nag."

Krystel watched as Tiffany cut into her orange then carefully ate the wedges. Shawna did the same so Krystel thought it best to follow suit. A moment later she realized why, in case the oranges were tampered with.

Just as they were starting to move Rodrick called out over the radios," Krystel; what is a good way to avoid cramps?"

"Eating citrus fruit such as oranges," she answered back.

"correct, why is that Shawna," he prompted.

Shawna replied, "citrus fruits have potassium in them."

Rodrick called back, "correct. what is another benefit to potassium Tiffany?"

"It helps the clotting of blood," she replied.

"Correct. Your next checkpoint is ten clicks west of your current position," Rodrick gave them a grid coordinate and signed off.

They found it on the map and moved out.

 

~o~O~o~
 

"Do they know they're heading for a village boss," Carl asked.

"Nope. They have a topographic map only. Lyssa will get there first and start setting up some improvised pop-up targets for them. The village is abandoned. All intel says its been deserted for years,"Rodrick answered.

They all sounded pretty aggravated Carl thought to himself.

"So let me get this right. Tiffany is gonna replace Lyssa and Shawna is gonna be the one that infiltrates agencies and that sort of thing and Krystel is Kim's back-up doing intel work right," Carl listed.

Rodrick stood looking over a highly detailed map, "that's right."

"So why do they all have to do all this kind of training if its just Tiffany that's really expected to be doing it," Carl asked.
Rodrick straightened up and stretched then turned to Carl, "to turn a bolt you can use that sized wrench, a crescent wrench or a pair of pliers but to do it right without damaging the head you'd use the right sized wrench. We can send Lyssa in. We can send Tiffany in. What if they're both engaged? We gotta send somebody. Just because they aren't slotted for it doesn't mean they can't be sent. Get it now?"

Carl thought about it, "yeah, now that you put it that way it makes sense. I ask because Kimberly wasn't trained like this."
"You're right. she wasn't and we're not making the same mistake twice," Rodrick replied.

Carl didn't have any response to that so he began to look at the map, its complicated markings on it and the notes on the paper beside it.

 

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Chapter 2

Kana Takagami looked in through the glass window to the room where several young women lay on bed hooked to machines. All were in various forms of coma and stages of pregnancy. Fifteen years ago the sight would have at the least sickened her, at the most; it would have angered her. That was then, when she had been a simple kunoichi. Kunoichi, a shinobi sister, were even more rare than shinobi. The skills and traditions were handed down mother to daughter. In the ancient times they disguised themselves as maids, cooks, even concubines and the more elite, professional Geisha. Common misconception was that Geisha were an even more elite form of concubine or mistress but that was post-world war two thinking. True Geisha were not in the sex trade at all. Actually, they were professional hostesses for entertainment during high power meetings and parties. To have one at a social or business function was a show of prosperity and high social grace.

All Geisha practiced an art form; musical instrument, song, dance and poetry were the main skills. Kana herself had been trained as a Geisha and also a concubine as in the days of old but no longer used those skills. She no longer chose to entice her way close to the targets. She rarely used traditional weapons anymore. She had become a weapon. Through science and ancient training she revived the legend of the Poison Soul. Her very touch was deadly. A handshake killed within minutes. A kiss took only seconds.

The old way was to use a poisoned lotion that the Kunoichi had developed a tolerance to. The poison itself absorbed readily into the skin of the victim unless disguised as a concubine then the poison was ingested during foreplay. The target died during the act, the technique became known as Loving Death. The door opened and a man leaned in and nodded to her. Kana followed him into the hallway and entered a room two doors down. The wailing of an infant filled the room.

A man in a tailored suit spoke to her in poor Japanese, "we are done with this one. Results are not as satisfactory as we need."
Kana looked down at the comatose woman still strapped to a birthing table. The usual breathing and feeding tubes had been removed as well as the IV needles. Slowly she leaned down and gave the unconscious woman a kiss then straightened and nodded to the monitors. A moment later the heart and respiratory monitors became erratic then stopped. Only a sigh escaped from the dying woman. The nurse disconnected the leads and removed the sensor-patches then two men grabbed her ankles and cruelly dragged her off the table. The cracking of her skull could be heard when her head hit the concrete floor. As if trash they dragged her naked body out and disappeared from sight.

"Dark hair but blue eyes and a boy. Should fetch at most fifty thousand," the suited man said in an Austrian dialect of German.

Kana said nothing though she understood every word. He was unaware she spoke fluent German, French, Spanish, English, Chinese and even Portuguese. He used online lessons to learn Japanese to communicate with her and therefore usually got the words mixed up if not wrong all together. Three of his men had died before he finally had to tell them she was not there for sex and forbade them to get within arm's length of her. She didn't care. The past three years had been slow work for her. Most assassinations were now being handled by the criminal cartels themselves. She'd only had two assignments in the past year and had been able to accomplish them while still working this form of security. She would give them another six months them look for something else to do when they moved their operation again.

Through a window into another room she saw them impregnating a young blonde Russian girl. Semen was easy to procure. Eggs and host mothers weren't. This particular woman was new. They had surgically induced her coma with a crude lobotomy. Her resume included ballet and gymnastics. Kana knew the semen had come from an athlete that had once held an Olympic medal and also was a musician from somewhere in eastern block Europe. If she had to guess he'd had blonde hair and blue eyes to match the woman as those infants were the most sought after.

Kana went outside and surveyed the village. It had been abandoned for years. Nobody was even curious about it anymore. Hans had a gift for finding such places and had even once ran his operation in America for two years. Africa was too unstable. He had mentioned to some of his men that he was considering Dubai or Kuwait next. Unless he could find a place like this one in another Slavic state close by.

Something in the air felt off to Kana. Nothing she could see, hear or smell but something was out there beyond the perimeter. Something like herself. Something dangerous. Kana knelt down and sat in the overgrown garden. Slowly she began her Kuji. Using her hands she formed the esoteric symbols to focus herself and open her mind and senses. Time and space, nature, and foresight; the Way of Seeing. Kana felt the feeling of dread flow over her. Something very dangerous was close by and maybe heading towards them. She could see nothing but the feeling was almost overwhelming.

Slowly she opened her eyes and rose then went to her room and began dressing in black clothing. Carefully she selected weapons; several shuriken, small spiked discs to be thrown. Weighted spikes, two lengths of chain with weighted ends, a garrote, three various sized knives, a baton that held a concealed blade within it. A bag of powder was tucked into her sleeve to be thrown in the eyes for blinding an opponent as a bag of small multi spiked objects called caltrops were tucked into her other. A handful of small pellets that when impacting on a hard surface would give off a puff of smoke and flare were slipped into an interior pocket then she picked up her sword; Shinobi-To and a shorted version, Shinobi-Tanto. Finally from the deepest part of the chest she brought out a hardened ceramic half -mask that would protect her eyes, cheeks and nose but leave her mouth open in case she had to talk to anyone.

The sword was not supposed to be in her possession. She had taken it before her father left the clan in anger. He had forbidden what she was becoming when she used technology to revive the Poisoned Soul. He had declared it less than honorable. When she and the clan ignored the protest, he disowned her and left the clan. He didn't leave alone and took over fifty of his family with him. The offshoot clan declared her an abomination and even refused to say her name. Kana soundlessly climbed onto the top of a small house at the edge of the village and waited. Someone was coming. Someone very much like herself.

 

~o~O~o~
 

Hans Freidler closed the negotiation satisfied. The dark hair and blue-eyed baby boy would bring in sixty five thousand from the Italian couple. The way of the future; designer offspring. Donor father and host mother had both been Olympic caliber athletes though had only competed nationally in their respective countries. Ukrainian mother and German father. she had been a figure skater and he a swimmer. Apparently their parental dark hair was more dominant than had been thought.

The new girl would be more productive. Blonde ballerinas and gymnasts were the family legacy. The donor semen had come from a man who had been an accomplished gymnast as well and had even won a bronze medal in the Olympics. His family also were dominant blondes with light colored eyes. His eyes were grey. Grey, green and blue were prized eyes. Her's were a light blue. The combination should be quite profitable. The girl in her late-teens would be able to produce an infant per year for ten years if they could maintain her, she was worth at least a million.

The ninja woman was another matter though. She was becoming more costly and he sensed she would rather be elsewhere. When he moved his operation in six months he'd dismiss her, though he'd have to pay her twice what they agreed and do a more than fair amount of understating the need for her. The Japanese were very pompous people Hans thought; overplaying their worth though she was different. Indeed he'd have to praise her highly and make the excuse that he'd overestimated the situation and not think ill of her for being bored and wanting to pursue other avenues to provide challenges more suited to a warrior such as herself. Yes, he would practice that and add more embellishment to the warrior bit.

 

~o~O~o~
 

Lyssa had closed to within a quarter of a mile from the village when she felt uneasy. The trainees would arrive by late morning so she had all night to get everything ready for them. Some pop-up targets, a few booby-traps and various other improvised obstacles for a semi-urban setting. The village was supposed to be abandoned for years, but Lyssa wasn't about to automatically assume it still was and stroll right in. Slowly and methodically Lyssa worked her way around the perimeter of the village from the quarter mile distance and noticed on the road there were alot of inbound/outbound tracks. The road was heavily traveled.

An open barn revealed several vehicles hidden inside. SUVs and sedans of note were inside. Higher price bracket. The village wasn't as abandoned as reported. It seemed somebody was there and attempting to keep a low profile about it. Lyssa immediately thought of weapons smugglers or militants then corrected herself. It could be anybody, for numerous reasons. First things first though, she needed to find out who and what was going on before the trainees were committed to the village.

After choosing a path of shadows, slowly she crawled in like a stalking panther and began silently checking buildings. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw something move on the roof of a small house as she worked her way in. The deeper into the village she moved the more she felt that uneasy feeling. The satellite phone vibrated against her hip and she pulled back to the fence of one of the outlying houses to answer it.

"Go," she whispered.

"Hey babe, what with the whispering? None of the girls should be anywhere near you," Rodrick commented.

"Village is not secure. I repeat; village not secure. Unknown element conducting operation of undetermined nature," Lyssa informed him quietly.
Rodrick lost all cheerfulness, "location and status."

Lyssa answered softly,"undetected. Eastern edge of village at a, blue house with possible outhouse. Wooden fence around combined structures."

Rodrick responded immediately," hold position until course of action determined or position compromised."

"Copy, out," Lyssa signed off.

"Out," Rodrick replied.

In the distance a vehicle started and began making its way out of the village. She used her nightvision spotting scope to try seeing the vehicle occupants and all she got was two blurs.

 

~o~O~o~
 

CHAPTER 3

Kimberly awoke with a gasp at the knocking on the door as LoneStar bolted upright.

"Kim. Hey Kim! Wake up. Rod's on the phone! He needs something ASAP," Eddie called out.

Kimberly noted that both she and LoneStar had pistols pointed at the empty doorway. She set hers back on the nightstand and grabbed the wrap that matched her chemise, stepped into a pair of heels and walked to the door. She opened it and Eddie stood waiting.

"I brought a cart, let's go," Eddie said and sat in it.

Kimberly settled in beside him, "What's up?"

"I dunno but he says he needs sky eyes fast," Eddie answered as they went to the hangar, "sweet nightie by the way. Hope I didn't interrupt anything."

Kimberly cut off his chuckle with an elbow to his side, "we'd have shot you if that was the case, smart ass."

Eddie yelped but continued to laugh. At the hangar Kimberly rushed up the stairs and pulled up her various windows and called Rodrick.

"Sorry to wake you up early Kimberly but it's important," Rodrick stated after answering.

Kimberly and LoneStar had changed their sleeping pattern to accommodate the training schedule as much as they could.

"What do you need," Kimberly asked.

He didn't waste time, "get eyes on the village. Its supposed to be deserted but Lyssa has activity on site and wants it checked out before the trainees commit."

Kimberly looked at the list, "I've got a KH-15 coming over in five minutes. Only one bird makes a slow pass until tomorrow afternoon my time."

"It'll have to do. Get me whatever you can find," Rodrick answered.

Kimberly hung up and began accessing the NRO to get into the satellite. Just as it moved over the target area she finished her requests and began receiving information then relaying to Rodrick. Three buildings were occupied, one had a satellite uplink. vehicles were being stored in an additional building. She saw movement to the side and enhanced the imagery. Two men were working at the ground and a body was nearby. Further enhancement revealed the body to be female and cold. the men were digging a grave to bury her and weren't extending much courtesy in the way. Thermal readings determined the hole to be only a meter deep and not long enough for a casket of any kind. Kimberly felt anger spike through as the men grabbed the dead woman by the ankles and drag her over the hole, releasing to let her fall in and began back filling it. The phone rang and she snatched it up.

"Tell me they didn't do what it looked like they just did," Rodrick said disgusted.

"They dragged a dead woman over a hole and dumped her in," Kimberly said barely containing her anger, "I count three men milling about outside not including the grave diggers. Lots of heat off the one building but no body count available. Do I need to get Star and have him fly us there?"

"Not at this time Kimberly. Lyssa is in there but they don't know it. We'll figure this out and either deal with it ourselves or extract and notify the right people," Rodrick replied, "Kimberly, what's that? Just up and left of center grid."

Kimberly enhanced as much as she could but couldn't determine anything for sure.

"I can't get any better. Looks like residual heat from somebody sitting or laying down but I don't see anybody. Don't these backwater little countries have a reputation for slave trade," Kimberly asked.

Rodrick thought about it for a moment, "yeah now that you mention it. Lyssa and I should have thought of that. this village could be staging area of some kind. We'll get into this, thanks Kimberly. Sorry we had to wake you up. Them afternoon siestas are great aren't they?"

"Well now how are we supposed to find out if they keep getting interrupted," Kimberly answered snarkily.

Rodrick disconnected with a laugh.

 

~o~O~o~
 

Lyssa answered on the first vibration, "go."

"I got imagery. Village is definitely hot and it sucks big time. Definitely hostile, possible slavers," rodrick stated.

"Oh great. Just what we needed," Lyssa replied sarcastically.

"They buried a girl and weren't cool about it. shallow grave, etc. you get the idea,"Rodrick informed her.

"I'm inside so might as well do something about it," Lyssa commented.

"I can be there by sunrise," Rodrick offered.

"Negative. I got it. How long do I have visibility," she asked.

"Probably three hours," Rodrick answered.

"Ok. I'm going live, comms open," Lyssa stated.

"Copy that. Go get 'em," Rodrick answered and went silent watching her move out.

Slowly Lyssa began moving further into the village. A single man stood beside the open door of the barn with the vehicles inside. Silently she crept up behind him and palmed the Marauder. A quick thrust and she drove the blade between the notch of his jaw and base of his skull slicing deep into his brain. The thug sagged and she lowered him to the ground before dragging him inside out of sight.

Slowly and methodically she found and cleared the rest of the sentries outside then moved into a building that appeared to be a makeshift barracks for the others. The last four were awoken by the sounds, forcing her to use the silenced auto-pistol. The .40 cal bucked in her hand as she triggered off the shots then added a head shot to each. Lyssa policed her brass and used a pair of pliers from her multi-tool to retrieve the slugs from the bodies then moved back outside. In the middle of the adjacent courtyard knelt a single figure. Lyssa approached slowly.

"Such a formidable opponent must be confronted with honor and respect," a feminine voice said in Japanese.

Lyssa replied in Japanese, "If honor and respect are possessed then of course. My apologies at making you wait since the small house with the walled in yard."

Slowly the ninja clad woman drew the straight bladed sword and laid it on the ground in front of her, "You are very observant. I am Kana Takagami of the Mirumoto Clan; Lovely Death."

*Lyssa holstered the Jericho and gave a wary bow, "Introduction? As you wish. Lyssa Kordenay-Mason; Steel Butterfly."

"I've seen you dance once. To learn now that you are a warrior is both a surprise and an honor. I never suspected," Kana said.

She removed her sleeves and mask then her outer jacket which clinked from the weapons within. Slowly Lyssa unbuckled the harness and set it on the ground. It was just a show. Lyssa knew the woman was still armed in some way, just as she was. Silently she moved in closer as did Kana. Slowly and surely with measured steps they circled each other in the starlit courtyard.

Kana feigned a punch then kick, neither of which caused Lyssa to retreat or even move to block. Kana then moved in more seriously and threw a real punch. Lyssa stepped in closer and instead of blocking it or dodging, she punched at Kana's forearm connecting with it. The female shinobi leaped back then moved in slower.

'The American is learned in Jeet Kun Do. Way of the Intercepting Fist,' she thought to herself.

It wasn't exactly a martial art but more of a supplemental to other martial arts. Kana knew and therefore became more guarded. Lyssa stepped in closer and brought her left foot up as if in a kick then spun bring her fist around off the backhand. Kana blocked the hammer-hand blow and tried to grapple her wrist to use a Judo throw, but Lyssa reversed falling backward and to use a jujitsu arm slip. They both went to the ground and began trying to gain the upper position. Lyssa changed tactics and shifted to the Brazilian version and moved to get Kana over her.

Kana realized the strategy and began to move downward of Lyssa's body to get away then tried a foot-stomp but Lyssa was no longer there rolling away. The female shinobi noticed something else as well. The American woman fought soundlessly. No Kais or other shouts. No explosive breaths. Not even grunts or groans of exertion. This was a fight to the death against highly skilled killer. Lyssa closed in again, Kana threw another punch with knife-edge fingers. Lyssa grabbed the wrist and jerked hard falling backward launching Kana at the wall.

The move had taken her completely off-guard. She slammed into the brick-face and staggered back spitting blood. Again Lyssa closed in and immediately began a flurry of punches. Several began connecting stunning Kana as she began retreating to get a bearing. Lyssa was employing a fighting style used by Russian special forces. It focused on being able to throw two hundred blows in one minute. Kana spun fast in a back crescent kick and realized her error when Lyssa blocked and punch simultaneously then two double-fist punches followed. Kana remembered; a technique she'd encountered from an Israeli.

Lyssa moved in again swinging one foot behind her then swung it forward in a kick which Kana blocked before realizing that was exactly what Lyssa had anticipated she'd do and swung her other foot up to kick finishing the maneuver in a back somersault. Kana staggered back amazed and dazed. The woman appeared to have studied every martial art all over the world. the bodysuit and gloves the American woman wore protected her from Kana's deadly touch and she'd yet to land a blow to her painted face.

"You are well learned in the fighting arts Steel Butterfly. None have survived as long as you," Kana said with a respectful tone.

Silently Lyssa beckoned her closer to re-engage. Kana moved in slowly and waited for the strike to come. The American cared nothing for flattery. Kana threw another punch which was immediately countered but now she was forced to think steps ahead and brought up her knee in diversion then swung her fist in and connected with Lyssa's cheek. Kana silently cursed herself as she noticed the facial paint didn't transfer to her knuckles. She would have mentally berated herself more but the deadly American woman was moving in again.

Kana understood now that this woman would not be killed by any tricks or gimmicks. Kana resigned herself to the fact she would not be walking away unscathed and prepared herself for the strike that would come. Lyssa's fist streaked toward her as did her right boot. At the last split second Lyssa sprang off her left foot and spun in mid-air bringing her left boot around to blind-side Kana. the solid boot heel slammed into the side of her head at the temple. Lyssa let her momentum carry her around leading with her right fist to pile-drive the same temple.

Kana went to the ground as Lyssa continued forward and drove her knee to the woman's throat. Kana threw her legs up toppling them both and rolled over to come up onto her feet. Lyssa moved even faster and was already inbound with a palm strike to the top of her forehead. Kana felt every vertebrae in her neck compress and heard the crack of several shatter. The ninja locked in paralysis on her knees. Lyssa stood casually looking down at her.

"You're done Kunoichi," Lyssa said softly in an icy voice.

"the Living Death Hammer," Kana said straining, "You've fought with such honor Steel Butterfly. This karma compels me to confess to you. My body is impregnated with poison, like the jungle tree frog. It's how I've killed undetected for the last several years. Your karma would not allow such an undeserving death. I betrayed myself when I came to this place. The selling of the innocents is against all that is moral. I betrayed karma even more by killing the women who give birth when Hans told me they were of no longer use to him,."

Lyssa walked over to the woman's weapons and unsheathed the Shinobi-To and came back.

"Your karma will hold you accountable in the next life Kana Takagami, Lovely Death of the Mirumoto clan," she whispered.

"Honor and respect always to be yours, in this life and the next," Kana said with labored breaths.

Lyssa swung the sword in a perfect arc severing the woman's head from her body.

 

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CHAPTER 4

Hans walked back into the clinic as they called it and realized something was very wrong. Suddenly he noticed that nobody was moving. The nurses, the men guarding inside, the lab technicians. None were moving. He opened his mouth to yell at them when circular cold steel pressed to the back of his head.

"Welcome to the final moments of your pitiful excuse for a life," a cold feminine voice hissed behind him.

"You won't live long enough," he smiled.

"Kana won't be joining us. Neither will any of your men," she replied.

Hans felt panic creep into him and launched himself forward to run. A single shot rang out as he gained the door and he felt the bullet tear through his back then felt nothing as he crumpled to the floor. As hard as he thought about trying to get up and run through the open door his legs remained motionless. Steel grey eyes locked to his as the pistol came up again.

"I'm being merciful. The death you deserve would take years," the woman with paint streaked features hissed.

"Let me go. I make deal," Hans begged then rattled off the computer password, bank account and its password.

"No deal. Just death for you," Lyssa said then squeezed the trigger once.

The bullet sliced into the side of his neck opening the artery. As his vision dimmed he saw the steel-like grey eyes before him.

"Past the gates; before the throne. I've been to Hell. You deserve much worse; this is too kind," she said in a clear voice.

Hans' mouth opened and closed but no words came out as he fell over dying. Lyssa looked around at the six beds.

"Ramrod come in," she spoke over the mic.

"Go," he replied.

"You're not gonna believe this. Its; its like a human version of a puppy mill," she choked out.

"I'm inbound. I'll hurry," he replied.

"Ok," Lyssa signed off.

 

~o~O~o~
 

Tiffany eased closer to the village and froze. Pete stood in the middle of the road. they watched him for fifteen minutes. He kept checking his watch and looking around for them.

"Piper. Any sign of the kids yet," Rodrick's voice came over a walkie-talkie.

"Negative. They're overdue by ten mikes. Another ten and I'm gonna go look for 'em," Pete replied.

"When you see 'em get 'em to haul ass we got a hell of a place to sanitize. Jesus fuckin' Christ; this is a fuc kin' mess. that guy's lucky she killed him or I'd haul 'im back to the island and work on him for a month," Rodrick called back signing off.

"Heard that," Pete signed off.

"Let's go," Tiffany said.

"Wait. What if its a trick," Krystel asked warily.

"No trick. He wouldn't be about to go look for us if it was," Tiffany replied and stood up.

They made their way out of the scrub beside the road and walked down it.

"Finally. Where the fuck have you three been," Pete asked.

"We were confused. You were just standing there in the middle of the road; so we thought it was some kind of a set up and you were playing security," Shawna explained.

"Oh. Well come on. There's a lot to be done. We got eleven shades of shit in a one shit trumpet," Pete waved them on.

The three followed Pete into the village.

"Tiff; you and Shawna start pulling bodies outta that hooch there. Krystel with me, we gotta find a couple that Lyssa left laying around," Pete said, "All bodies are going into a trench behind that building over there."

Tiffany and Shawna commenced with the assigned tasking while Krystel followed Pete as they looked for three remaining corpses. After ten minutes they'd found them. After covering the bodies with dirt they went to the main building led by Pete and stood horror struck at the sight. Pete had already told them what the story was. The fact they knew before seeing is what made it worse.

They stood and stared as the impact of it all set in. Ten beds in all but only six were occupied by women of various stages of pregnancy. Lyssa was leaning over one bed seemingly crying.

Tiffany leaned close to Pete and whispered, "Is Lyssa crying?"

"Yeah," he answered softly, "she knew that girl vaguely from the Bolshoi Academy. Lyssa recognized her immediately. The file says she's been lobotomized or something to be comatose. She's got no family. Lyssa made a call or two to find out. The other victims have families we think so we'll arrange it so Interpol gets custody of them all to get them home."

Rodrick had been whispering to Lyssa when she finally sat up, "No. Helena has nobody and if we send her back she won't even make it out of the country. They'll take her to the embassy and pull the plug. They won't even take her home."

"So what do you want to do," Rodrick asked.

Lyssa looked down at the damaged woman and said finally, "we take her with us."

"And the baby," he asked.

Lyssa looked back at him, "becomes our own."

Rodrick thought about it, "if we do this. If; will the kid ever know and whether or not, how many outside the agency have to know?"

Lyssa thought then answered, "we don't tell the child and outside the agency only Katya can know. If I 'take a year off' she would demand to see me sometime and if not allowed she'd go bonkers thinking something happened to me."

Rodrick looked around the room," does everyone understand this? Lyssa and I take on the child as our own. The biological mother can never be spoken of; understood."

a chorus of 'yes' answered him.

"Let's get this place cleared up then. Calls need to be made," Lyssa said dialing the sat-phone as the others began getting the women ready for transportation out.

 

~o~O~o~
 

Kimberly met the doctor at the foot of the Gulfstream's steps.

"Welcome back Dr. Isley," Kimberly smiled.

"Thank you Ms. Moore. Its nice to see you," Dr. Isley replied with her usual chipper smile.

They rode in a cart over to the infirmary and went inside, all the way back to the last room.

"Oh dear. Is the woman injured or sick," the doctor asked.

"She's comatose doctor. We believe it to be surgically induced," Lyssa spoke from the side of the room.

"Mrs. Mason. Hmmm. I take it that bruise on your lovely cheek is none of my concern," Dr. Isley greeted her and asked.

"Luck is a fickle thing doctor. There's also something else about our sleeping beauty. She's pregnant," Lyssa replied.

"Now I understand why you requested the ultrasound. Are there any medical records at all for her," she asked.

Kimberly passed over a file, "this is all we could find out."

Several minutes passed as the file was read she didn't comment that certain infomation was omitted. Such as name, age, origin. Dr. Isley then examined the comatose woman.

"Brought your gear Doc," Pete said entering the room with two cases.

Wordlessly she took out what she needed and began a more involved exam. After almost half an hour she turned to speak.

Dr. Isley said ,"her coma was indeed surgically induced. A portion of her brain was damaged by an invasion. She's oblivious to the world. This is non-recoverable. The other news is yes; she is pregnant. Twins. By nature or intention can't be determined. The upside is the embryos are not conjoined though sharing the same placenta. All indications are she's been pregnant for three weeks and in good health considering. In three months the genders may be able to be determined."

"thank you Doctor," Lyssa said then looked to Kimberly and nodded to the door.

After Kimberly walked out Dr. Isley looked to Lyssa, "let's dispense with niceties Mrs. Mason. this woman is in a non-recoverable coma and I suspect that the only reason she's here is because she's pregnant. Correct?"

Lyssa stepped in closer and looked at her intently, "You are correct Doctor. I knew the girl, she has no family. No one to miss her. I came across her by accident and refuse to do nothing about it."

"If I understand what you're implying, you'd like me to proclaim you the biological mother of the twins. yes," she asked.

"Yes. After delivery, I'll see to her personally. It'll be humane and painless. No distress at all doctor. Rodrick and I will claim the children for our own and no one off this island except you are to be the wiser. Is this acceptable," Lyssa asked holding out a Bearer-Bond.

Isley didn't even look at it, "yes Mrs. Mason it will if you will elaborate on how you intend to ease your surrogate's passing please."

Lyssa held out a micro-syrette. Isley turned it over in her hand.

"If you're expecting a cool little nickname for that, there isn't. Its a poison. without compromising anything; its a combination made from a toxin originating in Russia and another out of Isreal and one from Germany. It takes effect in under five seconds. Completely painless," Lyssa explained, "I've already made special arrangements for a burial on Grand Cayman and the grave will be maintained for the next hundred years."

"Acceptable Mrs. Mason. Congratulations on the news of your pregnancy and I look forward to home delivering your children," Anna Isley said and accepted the Bond, five millions dollars.

Rodrick walked in, "what's the verdict?"

Lyssa took the flowers from him and set them on the beside table, "we have an agreement."

Dr. Isley looked over at the flowers, "that's kind of you Mrs. Mason; the forget-me-nots."

Lyssa nodded as the doctor walked out, Rodrick followed carrying the equipment.

"I won't forget you Helena," Lyssa whisper and kissed her forehead.
 
 
 
 
 

Lyssa Kordenay returns in Trancendence, Vengeance and Secrets!!
 

*- author's note: This kind of 'big epic fight scene' wouldn't happen in reality. But I wanted one, because it would be SOOOOO cool.