by Kipjo Ewers
“If you’re attempting to change her mood, taking her to a coroner’s office to see a dead hero is not the smartest idea.”
“Miss, I just received a call from Chief Inspector Hector Martinez of the Mexican Federal Police. He is requesting that you come to Mexico to give your insight on the Castillo Cartel mass homicide case.”
“Which homicide was this again?” Rogers asked with a furrowed brow.
“Maxine, pull it up please,” Erica requested.
They turned to the holographic globe in the center of the command center, which projected an exclusive CNN news feed.
“Miguel Ángel Castillo the alleged former lieutenant under El Chapo, he formed his own cartel when his alleged former boss was incarcerated. It was reported almost a week ago that the mansion he resided in was burnt to the ground. The number of casualties has not yet been determined. Local authorities are already blaming the attack on rival cartels.”
“Well you’re not going to that,” Rogers shook his head.
Erica turned to him with a perplexed scowl on her face.
“Excuse you?”
“You’ve already committed to going to Chicago,” Rogers declared. “Esposito, Shareef, and I will go to Mexico; we’ll take Maxine to run whatever analysis you need to run.”
“But …”
He moved closer giving her a stern fatherly look.
“One dead body is enough.”
Erica dropped the feisty retort she had planned. Although he was verbally ordering her, Rogers’s expression read that he was asking her to please do what he asked.
“Maxine, please update Rosann,” she said with a whispered. “We leave in thirty minutes.”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Maxine, do the same for Esposito and Shareef,” Rogers commanded.
“They are already notified them, Sergeant Rogers. I am currently preparing both Tornadoes for departure.”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
A half-hour later, the Tornado piloted by Maxine carrying the Sarge, Heavy Element, and Sister Sledge touched down onto Campo Military Number One Air Force base in Mexico City. The rear hatch to the Tornado opened up creating a rampway for the Sarge and Sister Sledge to walk down where they were greeted by a First Sergeant in the Mexican Army and a military escort of two Humvees.
“Sergeant Rogers, my name is First Sergeant Francisco Rodriguez, welcome to Mexico.”
“Sergeant Abraham Rogers of the Regulator unit, thank you for having us.”
Rogers shook the First Sergeant’s hand and smirked as he felt a powerful grip as Rodriguez smiled back at him.
“Just you, or everyone here?” Rogers asked looking at his unit.
“Myself and three others in this unit,” First Sergeant Francisco Rodriguez answered. “There was talk about creating a separate unit like other countries, but we decided it was best for moral to integrate superhuman soldiers with regular soldiers to show that there isn’t any division. Also, it keeps the cartels for distinguishing which one of us is a superhuman, especially when we wear our headgear.”
“This is a member of my unit, Sister Sledge,” Rogers introduced her.
“Pleasure to meet you, Sister Sledge,” First Sergeant Rodriguez grinned shaking her hand. “I take it whatever you hit, you break.”
“Pretty much,” she answered with a smile.
“Our other two members Maxine and Heavy Element are rolling out our ride,” Rogers gestured.
Everyone turned to the sound of a rumbling engine as a grey gunmetal black off-road vehicle that appeared to be the child of a Jeep Wrangler, and a Humvee with the Regulator symbol on the hood rolled down the rampway with Heavy Element behind the wheel and Maxine in the rear passenger seat. The First Sergeant and his unit all nodded with impressed approval.
“Let’s get you and your team that the crime scene Sergeant.”
Twenty-five minutes later, the Regulators with a military escort arrived at the residence of the late Miguel Ángel Castillo.
“Yeah, that’s burnt to the ground,” Heavy Element commented.
Rogers silently nodded in agreement at the sight of what was left of the mini-mansion which was scorched to the foundation with barely anything left of it but a couple of walls still standing. Although the smoke was gone, the slight smell of burnt rubble and human flesh still lingered in the air.
As they came to a halt and exited the vehicle, the onsite Chief Inspector walked up to greet them.
"Sergeant Rogers, thank you for coming here with your team to assist us," Chief Inspector Hector Martinez said while shaking his hand.
“We’re glad to help.” Rogers nodded, before beginning introductions. “This is Sister Sledge and Heavy Element, Maxine our resident android will be doing the analysis on your investigation on behalf of Dr. Champion who could not be here due to another assignment.”
“I am proficient in all forms of forensic methodologies,” Maxine announced. “I look forward to assisting you with your investigation.”
Chief Inspector Martinez along with First Sergeant Rodriguez, who finally got a good look at Maxine, both wore masks of amazement. The Chief Inspector found himself looking Maxine up and down while searching for the words to respond.
“Um, thank you …Maxine.”
“So, what are we looking at Chief Inspector?” Rogers asked getting down to business.
“At face value a textbook Cartel massacre,” Chief Inspector Martinez began the rundown. “The problem is, we can’t find one body.”
All three human members of the Regulators glanced at one another with concerned perplexity.
“When you say you can’t find one body …?” Sister Sledge asked requesting more clarification.
“I mean we haven’t found one bone fragment, tooth, or even a fingernail much less a severed finger,” Chief Inspector Martinez said giving a broader explanation. “Feuding cartel assassinations are usually done with brutal, violent methods to send a warning to both the locals and other cartels. So dead sometimes mutilated bodies are purposely left to instill fear.”
“You’re not suggesting someone kidnapped an entire cartel and burnt the mansion down as a cover?” Heavy Element threw out.
“As crazy as that sounds, that did enter my mind,” Chief Inspector Martinez nodded while addressing him. “Mainly because we also did not find one shell from a firearm that was discharged, whoever did this wiped out them all out without a single shot being fired. It’s also not uncommon for Cartels to kidnap rivals, and do recorded scenes of torture and executions. And with the world the way it is now, high jacking an entire Cartel is not that insane.”
“But you don’t believe that’s what happened,” Rogers said reading his tone.
“No, I don’t, inside the crime scene is a ton of ash. Our forensics team is ninety-nine percent sure majority of it is human. So now my gut is telling me this was done by a superhuman, which is disturbing because Castillo from what we knew had recruited a massive number of superhuman muscle on his roster already, and it was steadily growing.”
“So, you’re suspecting they got slaughtered by a couple of heavy hitters,” Rogers deduced.
Chief Inspector Martinez answered with another nod.
“The reason we contacted Dr. Champion was to both confirm and then tell us what type of superhuman could do something like this and why.”
“Well let’s find out who the hell we’re dealing with,” Rogers said while turning to the female android. “Maxine, care to take the lead?”
Without a word, Erica’s first born’s eyes lit up as she walked toward the destroyed mansion with the team, the Chief Inspector, and the First Sergeant following behind her. As she entered, Maxine ignored the forensics team already present as they looked at her with the same expression the Chief Inspector and the First Sergeant had when they first saw her. Her head slightly moved while her eyes swirled around in her eye sockets as she scanned the entire area dig
itally recreating the structure.
Maxine then walked over to one of the small mounds of burnt structure and ash. She knelt down extending her right pointer finger which cracked open at the tip and began to vacuum up some of the debris. Her eyes began to glow brighter.
“Analyzing content, the Chief Inspector is correct; ninety–eight-point-eight percent of this is debris is human ash, the remainder is structural. Based on my restructuring of the crime scene, I estimate a casualty rate of thirty to forty people. The EVO responsible for this is capable of generating heat above eighteen thousand degrees Fahrenheit.”
“All killed within the house?” First Sergeant Rodriguez asked.
“Negative,” Maxine answered. “The scans I took while approaching the mansion reveal fresh footprints and body impressions in the lawn. Deeper imprints within the lawn moving in the direction of the building reveal the victims that were killed outside were carried into the mansion before it was destroyed. The two assailants moving the bodies were male and female, wearing Salomon Forces Toundra Pro CSWP boots. Size eleven for the male, and size eight for the female. It is my analysis that the two assailants were of the Titan or Mercurian class.”
“Titan and Mercurian class?” First Sergeant Rodriguez inquired with a confused look.
“Titans are the classification of superhumans with great superhuman strength, durability, and the ability to regenerate from injury, like yourself First Sergeant,” Sister Sledge clarified. “Mercurian are superhumans capable of immense speed and reflexes, but they also possess a level of superhuman strength.”
The First Sergeant nodded, with an expression as if he liked his classification.
“So, three superhumans came and took out almost forty people?” Chief Inspector Martinez asked in disbelief.
“Negative, based on my analysis majority of the victims had firearms,” Maxine answered him. “Your forensics team was accurate in their confirmation that no firearms were discharged. I suspect a powerful Promethean was the fourth assailant.”
“Promethean?” Chief Inspector Martinez asked.
“Our classification for a superhuman with vast intelligence and mental abilities ranging from mind reading and control, telepathy, psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, and telekinesis to name a few.” Heavy Element answered.
The Chief Inspector glanced at an equally stunned First Sergeant who mirrored his expression.
“You people have some fascinating names for us,” First Sergeant Rodriguez scoffed.
“Why would someone go to great lengths to burn all of the bodies down to ash?” Chief Inspector Martinez asked while looking around.
“Someone looking to hide something,” Sister Sledge inferred.
“Chief Inspector, you said that Castillo was heavily recruiting superhumans for his cartel?” Heavy Element asked.
“Yes, at a very alarming rate,” Chief Inspector Martinez answered. “He was under investigation for the murders of two cartel families in the span of a week. He was becoming virtually untouchable. We were concerned at the rate his forces were growing that he might lead a revolt and take over Mexico itself.”
“Guess karma is a bitch,” Heavy Element grunted. “Were there any foreigners in his crew?”
“Aside from his accountant,” Chief Inspector Martinez said, “No, all of them were Mexican. He didn’t trust Gringos nor did he believe they deserved to share in his profit margin. No offense.”
“None taken,” Rogers nodded. “Maxine, what is the current EVO demographic in Mexico?”
“EVOs?” First Sergeant Rodriguez asked.
“The current official US government term for superhumans,” Heavy Element answered.
“An estimated .01 percent of one hundred twenty-seven point five million people in Mexico are infected EVOs,” Maxine answered. “Ninety-eight percent of that .01 percent are female, while the remainder is male. One percent of the population are newborn EVOs which is steadily growing.”
“Is it safe to say that number is divided between law enforcement, military, and other cartels?” Rogers asked.
“It is,” Maxine confirmed.
“I think we’re running a lot of numbers and missing the bigger picture,” Sister Sledge stepped in to take control of the conversation. “Chief Inspector, do you know if any of Castillo’s people were all here or are some still on the streets?”
Both Rogers and Heavy Element looked at Sister Sledge and then each other understanding what she meant.
“At this point no, it’s a possibility some have gone into hiding, especially after this, why?”
“If they’re out there then we have someone to interrogate,” she answered. “If they’re not, that means they’re all here around us, which means the assassins completed their mission.”
Chief Inspector Martinez looked at each of them with suspicious eyes, before glancing at First Sergeant Rodriguez to confirm his misgiving.
“You people know something that you’re not telling us.”
“Yeah, we do,” Rogers nodded. “Unfortunately, we can’t divulge that information to you, and its best you don’t know.”
“Why wouldn’t I want to know if it will help my investigation?” the Chief Inspector asked with a stern tone and lump in his throat.
“If these individuals do have a Promethean among them, they might be listening to this conversation as we speak,” Rogers answered. “Even if we take you to our ship which can block against such abilities, you will still know what we tell you, which will put your life at risk. All we can say is, we think your case is linked to our own investigation, which means we’ve got a huge problem on our hands.”
“Sergeant Rogers, Director Alfred Mansfield of MI6 wishes to speak with you on an urgent matter,” Maxine announced.
“Patch him in.”
Rogers stepped away from the group to take the call.
“Director Mansfield, how can I help you? Yes, this is a secure line.”
The Sarge’s back became slightly stiff as he listened to Director Mansfield on the other end.
“My team and I will be there in forty minutes,” Rogers whispered.
As he turned to face the group, Sister Sledge and Heavy Element could already tell by his expression that he received an ear full of bad news.
“First Sergeant and Chief Inspector, we, unfortunately, have to cut this short due to an urgent matter in London.”
CHAPTER 9
Three hours earlier Central Daylight time, the second Tornado piloted by Erica landed at O'Hare International Airport.
Unlike the team in Mexico, Erica and Rosann rolled out of the airport in a sleek midnight blue ion engine powered four-seater sports car that had the appearance of a fighter jet on wheels. The two had not spoken to each other during the flight, and the silence continued during the estimated fifty-one-minute drive to the coroner’s office as the artificially intelligent vehicle took them to their destination.
Erica in an “MC Lyte as Rock” white t-shirt, leather jacket, jeans and black and blue Converse sneakers, swiped through her mail and social media feed displayed in front of her via holographic images. From time to time she glanced at a silent Rosann dressed in dark blue military fatigues with her rank of Private First Class and the Regulator symbol on the shoulders of the jacket. Her long raven mane was pulled back into a ponytail while her matching cap covered the top part of her face.
“So, how’s that brooding anti-hero shtick working for you?” Erica sarcastically asked with a nonchalant tone.
“I’ll tell you when you tell me how that ‘teenage angst, the whole world sucks’ is working for you,” Rosann answered back matching her tone.
“Are you really throwing shade my way Rosann?” Erica asked while lazily leering her, “Because I don’t remember us having any issues.”
“We don’t.”
“So, then what the hell is your problem?”
“My problem is people thinking that I have a problem, when I know I have none, and if I were a dude, no on
e would be asking what my problem is.”
“Chica, if you were a dude, I’d be asking what your problem is more colorfully.”
Rosann turned to her with a feral glare in her eyes, which Erica deflected with a Teflon demeanor. Rosann ended the stalemate by looking out the window again.
“I don’t want to argue with you, Erica.”
I’m not trying to start a fight with you either,” Erica returned swiping her screens away while swiveling her seat toward her.
“Then do me a favor and save the million and one questions for our next mandatory scheduled session,” Rosann requested. “The job is not getting to me; I knew what I signed up for just like everyone else who enters the service.”
“Everyone else does not transform into were-versions of animals,” Erica reminded her.
“The transformations are not affecting my state of mind Erica, it’s still me, I’m still in control, and at times more focused than I’ve ever been.”
Erica’s face read that Rosann’s statement worried her. She was about to verbally say what she thought but decided to hold her tongue as the vehicle pulled into the parking lot of the coroner’s office.
“Let’s get this over with,” Rosann flatly said waiting for the doors to open so she could exit.
They entered the building with Erica leading and Rosann following closely behind like a sentinel. Waiting for them at the security check-in was the Chief Medical Examiner of the facility. A husky slightly heavyset light-skinned man in his early forties with a bald dome sporting square bifocals and green medical scrubs underneath his white lab coat.
“Dr. Champion, thank you for coming at such short notice,” the man gratefully greeted her with a slight nervousness in his tone.
“Thank you for calling me in Dr. Barnes,” Erica smiled while shaking his hand. “This is a member of my team Private First Class Rosann Esposito.”
“Doctor.”
Rosann professionally extended her hand which the doctor shook.
“Pleasure to meet you, Private First-Class Esposito. Well, let me take you both to the examination room so you can see why I called you here.”