Mathew said, "You'll get through. You're fast enough."
"Not fast enough."
"This simulation is faster than average. It'll slow down when it's randomized."
Great news. Randomization? So I won't know where any of the targets are? Yeah.
Three days passed. Jim had a shiner. He had a black eye. I noticed at breakfast and asked him about it.
He said, "Zen hit me."
"Why did Zen hit you?" I asked.
"I tried to kiss her."
"So she hit you."
"She more than hit me."
I looked him in the eyes. He had this look of total glee about him. "What did she do?" I asked.
"She hit me. She got me in a sleeper hold, knocked me out. I woke up handcuffed to her bed. Naked. She got me erect with the tip of a feather. Rode me until she orgasmed. Then sent me on my way."
Oh my fucking God. Jim didn't look unhappy about it. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "I didn't even cum. She didn't let me."
She approached our table. Jim waved at her. She sat down and said nothing. Jim said, "Hello, beautiful."
Her eyes narrowed. "I didn't hurt you last time. You don't want me to hurt you."
I was watching all this unfold, and I was kind of awestruck by the process. I stopped eating my breakfast. Zen raced through her food and left. I looked to Jim and said, "You're not going to let her do it again are you?"
"Could I stop her?"
I thought about it. "I guess not."
"Plus, she used a feather on me. You just don't know."
I think I knew, and I think I knew too much.
Monday rolled around. Jim had no more bruises or anything, but I didn't think they were having more sex. If it could be called that.
I showed up at the danger room. Mathew was there, but so was Zen and Jim. RedCat, I should call him RedCat, not Jim. Still, he was Jim.
Mathew spoke first, "We'll let Zen do it first. The clock is ticking."
The go light turned on, and Zen took off in a run faster than I thought anybody could run. She started squeezing off rounds as she went. Video screens showed her progress. She never stopped running except to throw grenades and duck.
Chapter Six
Jim and I learned to run through the danger room killing enemies as they appeared. Within a few weeks, Zen beat the time limit, so she could move to the next level, but Jim and I lagged behind. A month later Jim and I passed on the same evening, and Zen congratulated us.
Quite a sinister little laugh escaped Mathew's lips as we crossed the finish line. "Next week. Stage Two."
Jim asked, "Stage Two?"
"You'll see. If you read the syllabus, you'd know."
Zen punched Jim on the arm. "Higher realism setting. Random opponents. We work as a team."
"Oh," Jim said.
We studied and ate together. Neither of them mentioned anything about their sexual encounter. I was getting kind of horny myself, and there was no way I would use my hand. In truth, I considered it, but it wasn't that bad yet. I winked at Ussilla one day after class. She let out this little purr in my general direction. I waited until we were together. I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in close. She slapped me hard. "Inappropriate behavior," she said.
"Nobody needs to know," I said.
"I'd know," she replied.
"Please?"
"Use your hand like every other single human male."
I wasn't every other single male. Maybe, I needed more friends. Zen was my only hope, and not for that, but maybe she knew somebody.
I knocked on her door. She answered and smiled at me. "Come in."
I stepped into her room for the first time. The walls were covered with pictures of boy bands. It kind of surprised me. I figured her for death metal or jazz. Not sure why I thought it would be one or the other.
"Can I help you?" Zen asked.
"Ummm… Do you know any girls who might be needing boyfriends?"
"Are you coming on to me?" She said with a blood curdling glare.
"After what you did to Jim, no, but I thought you might know some girls."
Her face evolved into a puzzled look. "What did I do to Jim?"
I didn't want to dredge up the memories. "You kind of abused him."
"I accidentally hit him, and I kissed him to make up for it, but that's it. What did he tell you?"
"I don't want to go into details."
"Tell me, or I'll accidentally give you a black eye, too."
I conveyed the details. Zen was strong, and I didn't want to find out which of us would win a fist fight. She said, "Lies!"
I didn't know what to think at that point. "Do you know any single women you could introduce me to?"
"What's wrong with me?"
"We're partners. If neither of us flunk out, we'll do missions together."
She reached up and ran her hands through her luscious blond hair. "You think I'm ugly?"
No, I think you're fucking dangerous. Her face melted into a frown. "Get out."
I moved towards the door.
"You best be ready Monday," she said. "Stage Two is a whole new level."
I left her room. Monday reared its evil-ass head.
Jim, Zen, and I arrived at the danger room.
Mathew was dancing to a tune only he heard. The three of us armed ourselves. Our teacher said, "Reality is at max. Difficulty is maxed. Random factor is at 100%. Form a marching order."
"We'll go side by side. I want Jim on my left, Bear on my right," Zen said. "I'll take center."
"That's fine," Mathew said with a brief nod, and he went back to dancing to a tune that wasn't there.
Zen said, "You boys ready?"
"We're men," Jim said.
I said, "I'm ready."
"On three," Zen said, "one, two, three…"
We took off in a run right into the danger room. I was in a field of grass. The sun shone on the horizon like it was barely past dawn. The three of us stopped. There was no exit. No clear path to take. Just a barn in the distance.
"We head for the barn, check it out," I said.
Zen took off in a run, and us boys followed. As we got closer to the barn, I noticed a breeze blowing. I could even smell the cow patties in the field. The closer we got to the barn the more it became a cluster of metal buildings with solar panel reflectors on the rooftops.
We had three doors to choose from, and I didn't like the look of them at all.
"We split up," Jim said.
"Hell, no," Zen said, "we open the main door first. I'll pull it open, and you two be ready to blast."
"Agreed," I said.
Jim and I drew our pistols. We quietly approached the building. Zen jerked the door open, and inside were some cows in stalls and another door.
Zen said, "Same drill, but Jim or Bear opens the door."
"Who put you in charge?" Jim asked.
"It's a solid plan," I said. "We take turns."
Jim moved up to the door. He jerked it open. A brightly lit room filled our view. A noxious chemical wave hit our nostrils, and there was a man inside wearing a mask. He drew a pistol, and Zen and I both put a bullet in his heart. There was a lot of blood, and he fell over.
He twitched for a while and stopped moving. All three of us had our eyes glued to him. Shots rang out on my right. I turned to squeeze off a round and realized in the computer's eyes I was dead. Zen and Jim cut down this new threat. I said, "Spawn."
Computer said, "One life left."
One life? Bitch.
"The next door is still mine," I said.
Zen pointed to the other end of the room. Speaking of the room, I think it was a meth lab. The chemicals weren't overpowering, but they were definitely cooking something.
I wrenched the door open, and Jim and Zen started blasting. Everything seemed so real, other than that our guns didn't kick, I couldn't tell I was in a simulation. More blood and more bodies greeted my view as I looked in the room. They had huge pink lights
set up running up and down the room, and some kind of plants, but they weren't marijuana plants. Some other drug plant by the look of them.
A door opened at the other end of the room, and a man stepped in with an assault rifle blazing on full auto. Zen and Jim were both cut down. I shot the man. Zen and Jim both said, "Spawn."
A man tossed a grenade through a door at us. Jim kicked it back in the other direction. We survived the blast, but the man who threw the grenade fired some kind of pulse-energy weapon at Zen. It looked like a ball of white sparkling energy. She said, "Shit."
I cut that man down. Then I was shot in the back by a similar energy weapon. Jim cut that attacker down, and then two more, but finally, he was shot in the chest. The barn disintegrated around us. We were in the danger room.
Mathew clapped for us.
"So real," Jim said.
Mathew whispered, "Stage Two."
Chapter Seven
A few weeks passed. Zen, RedCat, and I were at the gate to the danger room. The light flicked to green, and we charged forward. We had beaten the farm buildings scenario twice, and we hoped for something different. We stepped through and were in a rundown section of some city. In a factory district, but all the doors were boarded up.
Three buildings down, on the left, lights were on. Zen nodded in that general direction, and we ran. The door to the building was ajar, and it was Jim's turn. He poked his head inside with a pistol drawn. Zen already had her white phosphorous grenade out. Jim whispered, "It's clear."
We stepped into the derelict structure, and there was no light. Our pistols came with flashlights on them, but turning them on seemed to draw enemy fire like mad. Jim pointed. "Stairs."
Racing to the stairs, we took them two at a time. Quietly, but quickly, we ascended to the third floor. Zen stepped through the door and started squeezing off rounds. That was my cue to swap my pistol to my left and throw a fragmentation grenade as hard as I could through the opening. It went boom as Jim moved into the room to guard Zen. I stepped in last. Five bodies, and a bunch of blood splattered computers.
The room we were in was long, with windows all along the right side, and there was movement at the other end. I took a shot. Hit the target right in the face, but it wasn't an adult. It was a she, maybe ten years old, and I sent her brains to the other side of the room.
Zen whispered, "Damn."
"Shit, man," Jim said.
"The computer hasn't said anything," I said, even though I was going through shock. "We got to keep moving."
We took off in a run to the other end of the room. Two men with machine guns ready stepped into the room. I shot the right one, because the one on the right was my job. Jim shot the one on the left. We headed towards that door. Somebody tossed a grenade at us, and Zen tried to kick it away, but it detonated. The computer said, "Dead, Dead, Dead."
In unison, the three of us said, "Spawn."
Jim sent a phosphorous grenade into the doorway while Zen squeezed a few rounds into the darkness. The computer beeped, and reality reformed for us. We were back in the danger room. "Simulation complete. All enemies eliminated. One civilian casualty," the computer said.
Mathew was waiting on us. My mind was reeling. I kept seeing that girl's head explode. The danger room sessions were a bloody mess, and I dreamed about them sometimes, but never a kid.
"You guys did good," Mathew said.
Zen let out a little hiss. "We always get swarmed."
"Guns make a lot of noise. Would you rather opponents waited patiently in their designated areas? No. You make noise, and everybody's going to come running."
"Silencers," RedCat said. Did I mention that Nancy made it clear: Jim is not Jim, Jim is RedCat and only RedCat. He did have a mop of red hair.
"What about the little girl?" I asked.
Mathew turned his back on us. Like he didn't want to look us in the eye.
"I want an answer," Zen said.
"If the clock is ticking, a few civilian casualties will be overlooked," Mathew said.
"A few?" I asked.
Mathew turned around to face us again. "You'll study this in classes. Every mission is different. Just because there was what appeared to be a civilian in the mix, very likely she would have been armed or covered with explosives. You'll go on some missions where you aren't executioner of everyone you encounter. You'll be equipped with stunners and plastic ties, and you'll be expected to capture as many alive as humanly possible."
I started to shake. Bad enough that the others noticed. Mathew said, "Get some food in you. Get some rest. I'll see all three of you back here in one week."
We went to the vending machines. I got a damn chocolate bar, because I deserved it. Didn't sleep that night. Every time I closed my eyes a vision of what happened flashed before them.
I ate breakfast with Jim and Zen. Nothing out of the ordinary. The day went by just fine. At dinner, the cafeteria had a display case full of Chor'Tan Ale, whatever that was.
I was in my room studying at the end of the day. There was a knock. I looked at the security monitor. Jim stood in the hallway with a six-pack of the aforementioned ale. I let him in. He handed me a bottle. I took the cap off and smelled it. Fruity. I had about two sips, when the door buzzer knocked again.
I looked. Zen was in the hallway, again with Chor'Tan Ale. I opened the door, and she stepped past me. She grabbed a bottle for herself, and stashed the rest of the pack in the mini fridge. We proceeded to drink. We didn't say much. Often times, we didn't say much.
"Let's race," Zen said.
"Huh?" I replied.
"She means the ale," RedCat said.
I started chugging. So did they. We finished at the same time. I was beginning to not feel very well. Like the floor was shifting around. "What's in this ale?" I asked.
"It's just booze," Jim said.
I tried to read the label. My eyes were blurry. My empty bottle was taken from me, and a fresh bottle thrust in my hand. Somebody said, "Drink." I think it was Zen, but it might have been RedCat. He should be RedDog. Men are dogs, and women are more feline. I was drinking the second bottle, but I wasn't really noticing the taste. This is when I blacked out. I mean, I remember bits and pieces. We laughed a lot. We finished the second bottles, but none of us could figure out where the third bottles were hidden.
I woke up, with two bodies on top of me. There were four feet in my face, and I yelled, "Wake up!"
They both kneed me in the chest. My head ached, and I needed to pee and maybe puke terribly. They both climbed out of my bed. Zen asked, "Did we?"
Jim said, "I sure hope so."
She hit him right in the gut. He ran out of the room mumbling, "I'm going to be sick."
She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "I'm going to go be sick, too."
I had some hangover medication leftover from spring break. I grabbed a bottle of the "ale" and read the label. Seventy-five percent alcohol content, plus secret ingredients. I went to breakfast. Zen and RedCat joined me. Nancy approached our table. She spoke quietly, "It's against the rules."
"We didn't do anything," Zen said.
"The ale is against the rules. It contains an aphrodisiac."
"Oh god," I said.
"I don't think we got that far," RedCat said.
If we had a threesome and I was too wasted to remember, I'd be upset. That's the kind of thing you'd want to remember.
Chapter Eight
We moved through school and training like lizards running across hot pavement in the sun. In one session of Interstellar Law, they brought up the idea that Razdorans were a plague on all planets with intelligent life. The Razdorans' perspective on things was Libertarian/Anarchist, less laws are better, but this was not how governments saw things on habitable worlds. They saw a need for structure and order. Razdorans fueled organized crime syndicates and riots, trying to destabilize government bodies.
One day, this kid, he sat down with us. His skin was dark as night, and it was the first time I'd ev
er seen him. He looked like he was made out of rock, all muscle and girth.
"Name's Archangel," he said. His voice was deep like a well and sent a tiny vibration into me.
"RedCat."
"Zen."
"Bear."
"Are you guys new?" Archangel asked.
"We're juniors," Zen said.
"Odd. I've never seen you around."
"But, aren't you the new guy?" I asked.
"I'm a junior, too, but I mostly take night classes. I didn't live in Agency housing until today."
"Cool," RedCat said.
Zen grabbed a French fry and ate it. "What level in the danger room?"
"I finished it," Archangel said.
My companions and I looked at him again.
"Sniper training," he said. "It's different from the standardized training you've been going through."
Zen's eyes narrowed, and her cheeks flushed red. "How do you know we've been doing standardized training?"
"I've been briefed. I'm your new sniper."
Zen looked at me. RedCat looked at me. I said, "Cool."
RedCat let out a little one syllable laugh. "I always thought we needed a sniper."
Zen got this look in her eye like she planned to get some Chor'Tan Ale and introduce our new friend to it. Seriously, she leaned under the table pretending to scratch her ankle and checked out his package. I finished my food.
Archangel joined us in all our classes. He was even placed in our study group.
The semester ended. I wasn't in Ussilla's class anymore, and I wondered if I should approach her. I decided I wanted love in my life, not just physical release. Physical release was great, but love was power and strength and all the great things in life. She approached me, and even though I had planned with all my skill to say no, I ended up saying yes. Maybe I did love her. Not the kind of crazy, mindless love teenagers feel, maybe it was just physical. Hell, I didn't know. Other than the green scales for skin, she was beautiful, and I definitely was desperate. She provided the Chor'Tan Ale, too.
Codename: Bear: Secret Agent (Codename Universe Book 1) Page 3