Marie (Teumessian Trilogy Book 1)

by Ana Elise Meyer

  “Let’s go!” Michael yelled waving his arm for the others to follow. Everyone filed behind running after Michael who was already at the door. They emerged from the training center to see chaos. Guards were running around, there had been an explosion at the back gate. Michael assessed and started to run towards the armory, “Follow me!” he ordered. The rest did as he ordered and ran after him. Michael stopped a running guard, “Give me your gun, now!” Michael ordered him. The guard handed the gun over. Michael continued to the front of the armory, “Just stay behind me until you can get a weapon.”

  “We have to cover the back as well,” Samuel replied, grabbing an automatic rifle from the ground and checking it to make sure it was loaded.

  “Right, Sam take Ethan and Austin and get to the back and cover it.” Samuel didn’t hesitate

  “We get in you follow my lead.” Michael ordered to Marie, David, and Justin. They nodded.

  “You do realize that firing a gun around all that ammunition and I duno bombs could be a very bad idea?” David spoke up.

  “Shit, well fuck the guns, we need to get in and figure out what is going on.” Michael replied throwing the gun on the ground.

  “We gotta go hand to hand with whatever is in there.” Justin said with a smile.

  “Let’s go” Michael said slowly opening the door and pushing Justin behind him. The room was filled with smoke,

  “It’s tear gas” Marie said coughing,

  “Get low and stay behind me” Michael replied as he was able to make out five men in dark gear and gas masks going through the crates. Michael under the smoke cloud assessed what to do next, “They are looking for something.” He whispered to Marie, she nodded her head. “Ok plan” Michael started to say when a loud thud from the back shook the room. Gun fire began to spray across the open room. Michael, Marie, David, and Justin hit the ground. Michael lifted his head to see Samuel, entering the room and shooting out the windows to ventilate the room. Then firing the gun until it was empty Austin and Ethan then charged in. “Shit, go now” Michael yelled as Justin, Marie, and David jumped up with him to attack.

  They along with Ethan and Austin were quickly able to disarm the five men and held them at gun point. “Down on your knees” Michael ordered pushing one of the men to the floor.

  “What were you looking for?” Samuel said approaching the man on the far end of the line. None of the men would speak.

  Marie searched through the open crates, “There is nothing missing.” She said puzzled. Then she heard it, the sound of a piece of metal rolling on the ground. She looked down and saw it, “Shit!” she yelled “We have tear gas! Move!” she said running from the tear gas canister as it opened up, releasing a strong power gas. They all began to cough as they moved from the gas towards the broken windows and two doors to try to ventilate the gas.

  “Don’t let them escape!” Michael yelled as they scrambled to cover the exits. As the smoke began to clear, Michael saw it, the men were gone. “How!” he yelled looking frantically around the room.

  “I had the back covered. They didn’t get out that way.” Samuel replied coming back towards the center of the room.

  “I had the front,” Justin replied, returning from the front door.

  Marie moved back by Michael’s side. She felt something land on her shoulder. She looked. It was metal shavings. She looked up and tapped Michael on the back and pointed up. There was a hole in the roof of the warehouse. They had not noticed it earlier. In the chaos they hadn’t thought of how the men entered the building in the first place.

  “How the fuck did I miss that!” Michael yelled grabbing a nearby empty crate and throwing it.

  “They must have left the way they came.” David said staring at the ceiling.

  “But where did the tear gas canister come from? We had the five men under control,” Justin asked confused.

  “We missed some of them. We didn’t look past the five we saw. We failed.” Samuel added taking a deep breath.

  Michael sat down on one of the crates and held his head, “I failed. You followed my lead and I failed.” Michael said getting up and walking out of the building.

  Marie looked at the others, then quickly followed Michael out of the building.

  “We have to find out what they took. We will be responsible for its loss.” Samuel said running his hands through his short black hair. The rest got to work going through the crates. Marie ran out of the building looking for Michael but he was almost at the living quarters,

  “Wait Michael” she yelled running after him, but Michael didn’t slow down. He walked straight into the lab and made his way down the stairs to the living quarters. Marie ran after. She finally caught up to him when he had made it to his room. He was in there just sitting on the floor staring at the ceiling. “Michael, it wasn’t your fault.” Marie said walking towards him.

  “It is my fault. They trusted me to lead and I failed. They got away and with God knows what.” Michael replied, his green eyes fixated on the ceiling.

  Marie walked over and sat down next to him, “Hey, look at me” she said, touching his left cheek and turning him to face her. “You are not perfect, none of us are. We all survived. None of us were hurt. That’s what matters.”

  Michael shook his head, “No, it’s not what matters. We are here for a reason. We have been trained for a reason and it is not to go home happy at the end of the day. We are soldiers. We are to complete the mission or not come back. Our lives don’t matter no matter what we keep telling ourselves. They own us and we are going to pay for failing them today.” Marie felt her heart drop. Michael had never talked like that before.

  “You matter to me.” She said looking deep into his green eyes.

  Michael smiled and reached over and pulled her to him, “You are the only thing that matters to me.”

  Chapter 7

  The incident had rocked the company. They had lost guards, had a damaged arsenal and had lost a prototype weapon. The “management” met to discuss what to do next, especially with the “children”.

  “Well, let’s hear it, gentlemen,” Henry addressed the group.

  “They are on course for their training. They held their own.” Bruce replied.

  “Why thank you for such a descriptive fucking answer. Can you please enlighten us to each of their fucking progress? Considering how things went the other week, I am not pleased.” Henry added

  Bruce took a breath and began, “Ok, here it is. We have seven subjects, six men and one woman. Michael their alpha, his weapon of choice is a bow and arrow and he is deadly with it. Michael commands the group. They all look up to him and will follow him. Justin a more relaxed guy, Michael’s closest friend and lethal with a Bo. Samuel is a very serious guy, doesn’t smile much but can get the job done; his weapon of choice is the sword. Ethan doesn’t speak. I don’t think I have heard him say more than ten words in the past ten years. His weapon of choice, well, he doesn’t have one he will just fuck you up with his bare hands. We hooked him up with some brass knuckles for looks. Austin is subservient to Samuel and he will follow Michael only because Samuel does. Austin is a beast with a rifle, perfect shots every time. David is our explosives expert, he loves to blow shit up. Marie has passed our expectations for her. She is as fast as the boys, as strong, and far more agile. She lacks the fierceness of her male peers but can keep up and hold her own. Her weapon of choice is a set of combat knives. In total we call them ‘The Pack’ and ‘The Pack’ held their own with limited information and without their personal weapons” Bruce said looking around the room to each of them making sure to make eye contact with each and everyone in the room.

  “Time out” Frederick interrupted. “You are calling them ‘The Pack’ like they are fucking wolves or something? I don’t think that was agreed on.”

  Bruce looked annoyed “Yah, well, I trained them so I get to name them. So deal with it. You all wanted them to be marketable, so they are.”

  Henry looked annoyed, “I
don’t give a fuck what you call them. I am more concerned with if they are ready. Our fucking facility gets attacked and they fail to stop us from losing our most valuable new prototype.”

  Bruce stood proudly, “They are ready and will do as they are instructed.”

  “No they will do as Michael instructs them, so better make sure he follows ours.” Stanley interrupted.

  Frederick smiled “Well I hear that he instructs your sweet Marie nightly, or are you not keeping a close eye on your precious nursery?”

  Stanley’s face burned with anger. His importance has waved within the company over the years. His usefulness was considered to be of less of importance. The group had not shown any chemical advancements. So everyone had figured the chemical side of things had failed. His only job was to keep the subjects healthy and babysitting grown adults was not on his priority list as a scientist. So, yes he knew that Marie and Michael had gotten very close and he did suspect that they were more than just friends but he had no proof so he would never assume such a thing. “You have no proof of that so I suggest that you keep your rumors to yourself!” Stanley yelled back at Frederick.

  “I am so sorry if I question the strength of a team lead by a man who can’t seem to help himself from fucking his subordinates.” Frederick yelled back, this time directed at the whole room. “You say they are ready but they act like children with toys. They cannot be trusted getting back what they should have stopped it from going missing in the first place and you all think they are ready for presentation and sale? Hell, they are a mess.”

  Bruce was red in the face, Frederick was questioning his training and his over twenty years of work on these subjects. “You don’t know shit. You sit in your fucking office and judge. I train them day in and out and when I say they are ready, they are ready!”

  Henry raised both his hands, “Ok that’s enough from both of you. I am a bit more concerned about the fact that they all have these fancy martial arts type shit but only one of these fuckers is equipment with a god dam gun to hit the field.”

  Kenneth spoke up, “They each have a gun too and know how to use them. We aren’t stupid.”

  “Plus, again, you wanted marketability, they are more visually impressive that way.” Bruce interjected

  Stanley chucked.

  “Ok, then, so Ivan what are your thoughts on what to do with our pack? Can we sell them yet?” Henry asked.

  Ivan sat up in his chair placed his hands on his desk. His look was stern and confident. “Tag them, then unleash them. Get back what is ours. We keep them for now.”

  Bruce smiled, “With pleasure”.

  Chapter 8

  Tagging was a simple process, everyone within the company was tagged. It was an innovative new tattooing process designed to replace the traditional “dog tag” it was a tattoo but had a microchip installed that could be tracked via GPS. To the naked eye it just looked like a tattoo but with the microchips it could be scanned to identify the person as well. The company kept it simple. All of their ‘property’ or staff were tagged with the company logo on their chest. This way the company could keep track of their employees to prevent any sabotage attempts. Each of the seven were inked on the left chest with the company’s S logo securely in place. They were then dressed in their combat gear since uniforms were paramount in the company’s image.

  They reported to Bruce in the prep room where they were lined up. They looked good all decked out in black, weapons secured on their backs and a pistol strapped to each of their right thighs. They are ready Bruce kept telling himself, they are twenty two years old perfect specimens of physical fitness. They are fast, strong, and dedicated to their pack. They will do as he instructs them, well as he instructs Michael that is. “Ok listen up.” He bellowed to the group. “This is Mission One, and it won’t be your last. The mission is very simple: you will infiltrate and recover this.” Bruce held up a picture of a very small rocket launcher. “This is the RPG-9ZX. It is a prototype rocket launcher, half the size of a RPG-7 with an accuracy of 97% at 1000 meters. It uses a very little but powerful rocket capable of breaking through any armor the world’s militaries have come up with and yet can be carefully carried in a backpack, fireable with one hand.” Bruce said with pride. “It is our latest and greatest new toy and this rat bastard stole it from us and you let him.” Bruce help up a picture of man with dark brown eyes, black hair, and a large scar across his left cheek. “This man doesn’t deserve to be named, he deserves to be dead, and that is your mission. You retrieve our property and you destroy any evidence that this piece of shit ever lived.”

  Michael spoke up, “No evidence at all, no survivors?”

  Bruce smiled “Kill him and his buddies and burn his world to the ground. Here are the specifications of his base of operations. Our intelligence indicates that he has ten guards and is held up in the basement of his mansion and we believe that is where the weapon is being stored. Here are the blue prints. I will leave them in your capable hands, Michael” Bruce said handing the paperwork to Michael. “This is to be done tonight. You have a four hour window. This is your final warning, NO EVIDENCE.”

  “Yes, sir” they all replied. Bruce nodded his head and walked out of the room.

  Marie and Justin quickly scrambled to the table to look at the documents that Bruce had left behind. “I’m excited, are you excited?” Justin joked to Marie. She just laughed.

  Michael stepped up to the table. “This is simple. We take out the guards, break our way into the mansion, find this garbage and torture him till he gives up what’s ours. We failed once, we don’t fail again. This is our chance to redeem ourselves.”

  Samuel picked it the picture of the man, “You picked the wrong people to fuck with buddy.” He said with a smile.

  The group let out a chuckle.

  “Ok let’s move out.” Michael ordered.

  It was a cold, dark night as the pack approached the mansion. They had darkness on their side. It was only a quarter moon. They moved swiftly through the darkness.

  “Radio check, Austin check in.” Michael ordered.

  “I’m lined up and got the two guards in my sights.” Austin replied from his perch in the old oak tree just outside the gates.

  “Ok, take them out,” Michael ordered.

  “Letting it fly.” Austin replied. Both guards dropped to the ground one right after the other.

  “Nice shot, Marie and Ethan your move.” Michael ordered.

  “With pleasure” Marie replied. Marie and Ethan quickly scaled the two story metal gate. Ethan went directly to the dead guards and began moving them to the bushes. Marie entered the guard booth and quickly opened the gate. “Doors open, move in” Marie radioed. Michael, Justin, Samuel, and David quickly moved through the open gate to join Marie and Ethan.

  “Austin, maintain your position and provide cover. Everyone else with me. Let’s find what’s ours.” Michael took the lead and they all followed. Michael slowly opened the door to the house. He saw a man standing in the front living room, Michael took aim with his bow and fired. The arrow landed straight through the center of his back, the man fell to the ground. “Samuel and Ethan clear the upstairs, David set the charges, Marie and Justin you’re with me.” Michael ordered. Samuel and Ethan quickly made their way up the stairs. David moved to the back of the house. Michael, Marie, and Justin moved to the basement. As they moved down the stairs, Michael saw four men. He took aim with his arrow, fired a clear shot to the neck. The man fell to the ground. The other three turned to the stairs, Marie, Michael, and Justin moved in. One for each of them. Justin took his out with few quick spins of his bo, Michael went hand to hand with his prey and was quickly able to overpower and snap his man’s neck. Marie pulled out her knives and disarmed and sliced up her prey finishing him with a stab to the neck. They moved into the back room where they found an empty room, only a blank desk and chair were there. “Where the fuck is he!” Michael yelled shoving the desk into the wall. In walked Ethan and Samuel, with
the ‘rat bastard’.

  “Look what we found upstairs.” Samuel laughed. “Looks like our intelligence sucked. We found four more upstairs, no worries, though, they’re dead.” Justin pulled the chair from behind the desk. Samuel pushed the ‘rat bastard’ into the chair. Michael stood in front of him.

  “Where is it?” Michael yelled.

  The rat finally spoke, “I don’t know what you talking about.”

  “Try again mother fucker. We know you stole the RPG. Now I suggest you give it up before we shred you.” Michael yelled. Marie pulled out her knives. “She’s pretty fucking good with those, if you’d like to see her work I will let her.”

  “I’d love to let her do anything to me.” The rat smiled.

  Marie stepped up, holding one of her knives to his throat. “Oh I bet you would.” Marie said slyly. The rat looked to his left.

  “What are you looking at fucker?” Justin said as he looked to the wall where the rat looked. “Oh would you look at this.” Justin said. Justin felt the wall. It was a safe. “Oh this would be fun, where is David?”

  “David report in, we need you in the basement.” Michael ordered over the radio. Within two minutes David was in the basement.

  “What do you all need? I’ve got the charges set we have 20 minutes.” David asked.

  “We have something for you to bust into.” Justin laughed.

  “Oh this looks like fun.” David ran his hands over the safe. “This is a simple one.” David pulled out his kit. He pulled out a small knife and began to pry it into the key lock, when suddenly there was an explosion. It rocked the room and knocked everyone to the floor.

  Michael was the first to speak. “Is everyone ok, where are all of you.” He frantically looked around the smoke. Each slowly began to stand up. Everyone but David, he lay lifeless on the floor, the safe door was wide open. Marie rushed to David.