Tracy said, “Keep practicing and I’m sure your control will improve a lot. I told you how much greater my own power is now, right? Whatever we did that night must have really zapped us … I’m now feeling all amped up. Having all that power go through me the way it did? It’s as though my capacity for energy was stretched way, way out … and, now it’s staying that way. From what you’ve said, that’s what’s happening for you as well. Only, now you can also draw energy from outside yourself, the way I do, in addition to what you have inside.”
Tracy was a witch and -- based on the extraordinary ways Missy was able to use energy -- Missy obviously was also. Real witches were rare supernatural beings with special powers and abilities. These varied from witch to witch, but they were always about having and using energy.
Tracy was able to not only use energy for fire and light but she also could control the weather. She had spent a few years in a coven with an experienced witch as her mentor and had already been a powerful witch before coming to the academy. She was able to conjure up a severe storm, even on an otherwise clear day, and send down lightning bolts. She could direct those lightning bolts onto targets with great accuracy.
But, like most witches, Tracy harnessed and used energy from sources all around her; she didn’t have Missy’s ability to also draw energy from within. Because Missy was a Shifter, she could tap into that supernatural energy she had inside herself. Only recently had Missy started drawing power from outside sources.
It was extremely rare for any Shifter to also be a witch -- Missy was the only one in modern times. And, as though that weren’t unusual enough, she also was the only female werecat in the last two hundred years. She’d learned there were currently twelve other werecats, all men, throughout the rest of the world. She had actually met one of them but he had now returned back to South America.
Missy and Tracy were the only supernaturals at West Point and had grown very close. They believed their being roommates during Beast training, paired together in the same squad, had certainly been something only those Fabulous Fates could have arranged. Though no longer roommates, they continued to support each other in ways no one else possibly could.
Thus, Tracy was now helping Missy and today’s lessons had been twofold. First was to focus and control Missy’s energy, which crushing the paper cup showed Missy was clearly now getting a handle on. And, second was how Missy could harness and use energy from sources all around her. Missy actually had already started doing this, instinctively, drawing power from the bond she had with her boyfriend, Mike Ryan.
Missy and Mike had been in a relationship for almost two years. When they had become intimate eight months earlier, a unique mating bond had formed and had been growing stronger ever since. Missy was able to send Mike mental messages which he could understand clearly, just as though she was speaking to him verbally. She could feel his presence and know where and how far away he was. And, she could experience emotional feedback from him, knowing how he felt when he got her messages.
Recently on Veteran’s Day, during what Missy referred to as her Operation Roseanne, she and Tracy had worked together. They’d dealt with a mobster named Salvatore D’Amato who Missy had decided needed to be taught a lesson. This was the night Tracy believed she and Missy had used so much energy they’d been zapped, giving them a capacity for energy and power now so much greater than before.
Tracy had formed a circle that night and inside with her had been Missy’s brother John, Tracy’s Mom and Missy’s boyfriend Mike. Tracy and John were just starting a relationship and, just a couple of weeks earlier, she had nervously revealed to him that she was a witch. To her great relief, he became more enamored of her than ever. He was definitely there in that circle for her and not merely because of Missy. Tracy’s Mom was there, supporting her daughter. She was a witch also, able to move objects by telekinesis, although not a very powerful witch. Mike, of course, was there for Missy. And, although neither John nor Mike were supernaturals and Tracy’s Mom had lived most of her life as a latent witch, not using her powers -- that hadn’t mattered.
That night, Tracy had been able to pull lots of power from Mike, John and her Mom -- reinforcing the power she harnessed from all around herself -- and she’d kept sending down lightning bolts, again and again, more than she’d ever done before. Those were all onto Missy’s pre-planned targets out at D’Amato’s estate, about a half mile away, and on commands which Missy had passed along through Mike. At the same time, inside D’Amato’s home, Missy had been sending out some huge energy bursts of her own, tapping into Mike for added power. The added power, with Mike being in that circle with the others, had been tremendous and Missy had actually felt as though she were about to explode.
With everything else that had been happening over the past three weeks, today had been the first opportunity for Missy and Tracy to review everything they both had experienced that night. And, Missy now indeed was able to draw power from sources all around her. Even without Mike. Tracy was not surprised since she herself had experienced such an enormous increase in her own power, far beyond anything she’d ever dreamed possible. Apparently, whenever a powerful witch used and experienced energy while still in their formative years, that enabled growth. The greater the power used, the greater the growth.
Thus, Tracy and Missy were now able to start right from where they’d left off, at their maximum level that night three weeks earlier. They could easily tap into energy sources all around them and fill right back up, ready to go all over again. Yikes! Since they were only eighteen -- and witches typically could continue gaining power up through the age of twenty-five -- they both had a ways to go before their powers were fully developed.
“What does my brother think about all this?” asked Missy. “You two spent a lot of time together during Thanksgiving break and I’m sure you explained things, right?”
“Oh, John keeps making jokes … he’s just too funny, but you know that about him already, so I don’t have to go on and on.” Tracy looked at Missy and her eyes suddenly glistened. “You know … he’s completely swept me off my feet. He’s going home with me again … Christmas break. He says he wants to spend every possible moment with me … he even wants me to introduce him to my coven back there.”
Missy laughed. “Wow! But, you know? I think it’s the other way around, Tracy! You’ve completely swept him off his feet!”
-----
Cadet Ronald Quigby was in his third year at the academy; his cow year. Freshmen at West Point were fourth class, also known as plebes. Sophomores were third class and yearlings, juniors were second class and cows, while seniors were first class and firsties. He tolerated women at West Point, since he didn’t have much choice in that, but he definitely believed men were far superior. He considered it his duty to force out those female cadets whom he did not consider worthy of being there.
He had targeted Cadet Missy McCrea but that had really backfired, making him look bad. He had been platoon leader during the second month of Beast Training that past summer and she had been in one of the squads in his platoon. He had initially wanted to make an example of her. He’d heard some stories about her first month there and had checked her out. She was a freak. There even were stories about her on the internet.
Then he’d watched her movements during training and mass athletics and he could see that she was mesmerizing. She would do some pretty amazing things but always made it look easy. Wherever she went and whatever she did, there always seemed to be a lot of guys just following her around, watching her. He believed that just proved his point about how women could be such a huge distraction in the military.
But, in spite of all his harassment and that by a few other Cadets who shared his low opinion of women at West Point, her performance had been exemplary. She not only had scored higher than any other female on all the Army’s physical fitness tests that summer, but she also had been top shot. She’d won the M4 rifle competition scoring highest in the whole regiment, out of 124
0 plebes. The competition had been held for those who had qualified expert, which she somehow had managed doing. That, in spite of her supposedly never having fired a rifle prior to coming to the academy.
Then, for the actual top shot competition, she had hit every target, a dozen more than anyone else. What made that more remarkable was how the night before -- thanks to some friends that his former buddy Cadet King had arranged for -- she had been surprised during the night. She had been out in the field, sleeping in a tent, rather than safe in her room back at the academy. Her squad leader Cadet King was from New York City and had sent four local guys out there to mess with her. Big guys, former football players.
He never did learn exactly what happened and King was no longer speaking to him. But, the four guys had turned themselves in that night -- sporting injuries from an obvious brawl -- claiming their intrusion had only been a prank, after a night of crazy carousing in a bar. No one admitted to targeting Cadet McCrea or that Cadet King had been involved.
Somehow, she had dealt with those guys -- had them cover up what really had been the plan -- and then had gone on the next morning to hit every target out at the rifle range. King had been very worried since had the real story been disclosed, he would have been dismissed from the academy. Of course, had that story come out, Cadet McCrae probably would have been too busy making statements and testifying to what had happened -- including how she had inflicted all those injuries -- and she then would have missed the competition.
Yeah, she was freaky all right. And, her performance since then had only been even more aggravating; she was a star athlete on their varsity teams and was also a member of their Combat Weapons Team. Her ability with the M9 pistol was equally as good as that with the M4 rifle. And, he’d heard she was also joining their Rifle Team, where she’d be competing nationally in both air rifle and .22 caliber smallbore. When she could fit it in, without conflicting with her sports activities.
She had led their women’s soccer team to one of its best seasons, finishing in the playoffs, and was already making a name for herself on their women’s basketball team. And, she was having no difficulty with any of her studies, consistently getting top grades there as well. She rarely earned any demerits and was very popular with just about everyone. He really hated her.
But, he knew he’d better not mess with her or with any of her many friends, either. Not unless he could clearly show cause for her being dismissed. He would continue to watch for that. He desperately wanted to see her fail. How else would he ever be vindicated? Women just had no business being in the military.
Chapter Three
Dec 5, 2018
“Hey, Barb … remember how Cadet Bernhard kept giving you demerits every time you turned around? But, then he stopped bothering you?” Sally Navarro had just been given several more demerits after being caught unprepared, once again; she hadn’t memorized the latest Army song correctly. The trivia which a plebe was required to know was endless and testing plebes was the favorite pastime for upperclass cadets. Now, as punishment -- since she had accumulated so many demerits -- she would have to spend Saturday afternoon doing another walking tour, in full uniform with her M14 parade rifle, walking back and forth in the Central Area.
Barbara looked up at her roommate and said, “Yeah, sure. Why?”
“He and a couple of his buddies stopped me right after swim practice and now I have to walk a tour on Saturday. He and that Cadet Quigby are always harassing every female in our class. It’s so not fair! It’s not paranoia when they’re really out to get you, right?”
Sally was a strong swimmer and at five-nine, with her size and finely toned body, she was having no problem with any of the physical fitness requirements at the academy. And, she was managing okay with all the academic stuff. But, the endless hazing was getting to her. She prided herself on being a Jersey Girl, born and raised in Newark; she had plenty of attitude, but that got her nowhere when being braced by upperclass cadet men.
Sally said, “Tell me again how you got them to stop bullying you so much.”
Barbara Rozak was a fiery Latin American girl, born in New Orleans but her parents were both from Brazil. She was a big, powerful girl and very athletic -- she was five-ten and a great soccer player. She and Sally got along well enough, but Barbara had a short fuse and would lash out at others in her frustration when things didn’t go her way. And, all through Beast Training and on into September, her temper had definitely been heading her for some trouble. There had been several incidents with Cadet Bernhard who had been making her life miserable. But, then he’d stopped and had backed off, leaving her alone.
Barbara said, “It wasn’t really me. Remember that girl I kept going toe to toe with on my soccer team? She kept getting in my face whenever I started ranting or went off on anyone? Missy McCrea?”
“Sure, you two ended up the best of friends. And, you guys made the playoffs and everything. One of the best years ever. What did she do?” Sally had heard a lot of things about Missy but this was the first she was hearing anything about her helping Barbara avoid all that harassment she’d been getting early on.
“Well, she never actually admitted this. And, at first, I didn’t realize she’d really done anything.” Barbara paused, remembering how things had started out. Whenever she would get pissed off and start yelling at someone else, right away Missy would be in her face. Missy never yelled and would let Barbara vent, streaming one expletive after another until running out of steam. These incidents happened less and less as Barbara began realizing how ridiculous her rants were becoming, with everyone else finding it amusing. And, of course, no one could intimidate Missy.
Barbara said, “It took me awhile to figure out what changed. But, you know how Missy is also on the Combat Weapons Team?”
“Oh, yes. I hear she’s maybe the best shooter they’ve ever seen … ahh!” Sally smiled suddenly. “She had her good buddies from there get involved? I know those guys have a lot of influence around here, especially the firsties. Wow! Talk about friends in high places.”
“That’s why I didn’t figure it out right away. You see, she also has some pretty big enemies in high places too. She made Cadet Quigby look bad somehow during Beast Training and I know he hates her. But, he’s not going to mess with her again unless he really has something on her he can prove. He and his buddies want her kicked out in the worst way.”
Sally said, “Interesting! I keep hearing things about Missy. And, I know you ended up really liking her, right? I’ll have to get to know her better. She’s in a couple of my classes and I’ve seen her around, but I’ve not really had that much to do with her. Maybe she can use her influence to help me too. I sure hate these damn walking tours and all the endless harassment.”
-----
John found Mark Mathews waiting for him when he came up from the subway. He’d driven into Boston from his college dorm in Easton, parked where his car would be safe and yet the fee wouldn’t be too steep, and had then switched to the subway for the last leg of the trip. It had only taken forty minutes in all and he was pleased since often it could take a lot longer. Catching a concert mid-week wasn’t normal for him but when Mark had called, explaining he already had the tickets and his wife Alice couldn’t go, John couldn’t say no.
Besides, he hadn’t seen his best friend since the wedding right after Thanksgiving. “Hey, buddy! How’s married life treating you? Tell me all about Hawaii.” He could see by Mark’s happy expression that, indeed, married life was treating him well. Of course, Mark had never had eyes for anyone other than Alice. They’d been a couple since junior high school and, for the last couple of years, their committed relationship had been the envy of everyone else.
Mark said, “Oh, we had the best time! The hotel was great, the food was great … everything was great. The weather was perfect. And, Alice absolutely loved sailing in a catamaran. She now wants us to get one for back here. All these years living near the ocean and she’d never gone sailing before.”
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“Well, you guys can afford expensive toys like that now, so I say sure. Go for it!” John laughed and so did Mark.
Alice’s Mom had given Alice a million dollars, from the better than five million that she’d inherited when her husband Tony Gonzales had died. After years of living meagerly, working nights at Walmart to make ends meet, that had definitely been a surprise. She’d known Tony was well off when she’d married him but since he’d been so miserly for the four years they were together, she’d never dreamed she’d be rich someday.
Of course, she’d also never known Tony had been laundering money for the mob. Things suddenly had gotten real complicated when Alice was kidnapped and held for ransom. Tony’s mobster buddies had wanted some of those millions. But … somehow -- and she still didn’t know quite how -- Missy had taken care of everything and had brought Alice home that same night; things had been just fine ever since. While she had remained clueless, Mark knew the whole story. That was the night Alice had learned her best friend was a werecat.
Even John didn’t know how his sister had rescued Alice. There had been two men holding Alice and they had not planned on releasing her. No, Alice would have been abused by them for days and then her dead body would have been disposed of. So, when a wild mountain lion had suddenly burst into the room and killed the two men, that had been quite a sight for Alice. And, when that big ferocious cat had suddenly Changed and Alice saw it was Missy standing there in front of her? That had indeed been a real “wow moment”!
Missy's First Mission Page 2