“You cry when you’re mad?” The perplexed look on her face told me she thought I was a stark- raving lunatic.
“Sometimes, but that’s not the point. If I can still get emotional, maybe they messed me up somehow.” My voice was cracking and the tears began to flow from my eyes again.
“We’ll talk to Laughlin in the morning, K?” She yawned as she spoke.
“OK. I guess,” I said as I wiped the blasted tears from my cheeks.
I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at the rising sun. Evie continued to read until it was time to head back to the training facility. When we arrived, the boys were staring at the television. Brent spoke first. “How do you suppose someone pulled that one off?”
“That’s like Oceans 11 there. Pretty crafty,” Paul added.
“What happened?” Evie asked. I was preoccupied by my reflection in the mirror.
“Turn it up so Evie can hear,” Brent said.
The green eyed news anchor stared into the camera, trying out his most serious face. A Bank of the Americas logo floated behind his head.
”Many Americans will be waking up this morning with a little more money in their bank accounts. Sometime last night, computer hackers were able to wipe out the The Bank of the Americas, sending the financial world into chaos. This is similar to smaller e-robberies in Japan and Switzerland where large dollar accounts were cleaned out and the funds were dispersed into millions of random bank accounts throughout the world. We will have more to this story as it develops.”
Cam spoke up. “The Bank of the Americas, huh? They must have got billions. That’d buy a lot of clothes, ay Lexie?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I sighed completely uninterested.
“How much is your family worth Len?” Cam brazenly asked.
“I guess about a billion or so,” Lenny answered.
“So not enough to keep ole’ Lexie here happy then?” Cam laughed at his tasteless joke. Lenny and I both shot him menacing glances.
“Whoa! Touchy touchy!” He continued laughing as he walked into the training room.
I could hardly look at Lenny. It wasn’t about money. It was about love or a lack of love rather. I cared deeply for Lenny, but that was all. I cared for him like a brother. I pushed past Lenny and made myself comfy on a boulder in the training room. Cam and Evie were racing each other up the man- made trees, while Brent and Paul were tossing a boulder around like a baseball for fun. Lenny stood against the wall opposite from where I sat. I knew he never took his eyes off of me, but I was too much of a chicken to look at him. Laughlin arrived with what seemed like a new sense of purpose. He called us to attention.
“Pride, we have an assignment. It is sooner than I had anticipated. We only have a few hours to prepare you for this mission. I am certain you will be successful. We don’t yet have a good handle on all of your abilities, but all of you were exceptional highly decorated soldiers before becoming the half-breeds you are today.”
I frowned at the term half-breed. It reminded me of a mangy little abandoned mutt who rummaged through trash cans.
“You are fully capable of completing this undertaking. I will brief you at thirteen hundred hours. You will leave at fourteen hundred hours. Return to your barracks and begin packing. You will need civilian clothing for your trip, and you will be given proper gear prior to departure to aid you in completing your task at hand. As you were soldiers, and be in my office at precisely thirteen hundred hours.”
We all saluted the colonel and stood at attention until he left the training room. I had nervous butterflies dancing around my stomach as I walked back to my barracks. Evie was silent as she walked beside me. I assumed she was mentally preparing for battle. It felt too soon for a mission. I still didn’t know where I fit into our little team. We’d only been half-breeds, as Laughlin called us, for a few weeks. Less than a month ago I’d been at Macy’s dropping half of a month’s salary on incredible Prada boots. I still felt too human, and I didn’t like the term half-breeds. It seemed demeaning somehow. We were super humans, special humans, crazy strong humans, but NOT half-breeds. Well, my brothers and sister were super humans anyways. I was more of a quarter-breed I guessed, one quarter lion and three quarters human. Maybe I was created from a cub or something. Perhaps I would grow into the strength and speed of my siblings. I could only hope.
Evie was packing her suitcase while I was lost in thought.
“Evie, what are you taking?” I couldn’t decide what to take and what to leave. I was mentally picturing my wardrobe, and it all seemed so necessary.
“I don’t know. I guess a couple pairs of jeans, undies, bras, and some tops.”
“That’s it???” What if we’re gone for a long time?”
“I can always hit a mall if we’re going to be gone for an extended period. Oh! I can’t forget my toiletries.” Some of Evie’s words came out with a mild French accent. It made her seem more exotic. She ran for the bathroom, and came back a few minutes later with shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, and brush, all teetering precariously in her tiny arms. She dumped it into her suitcase. Shoot, I had an entire suitcase devoted to hair products, accessories, make-up, and jewelry. Evie and I were definitely very different people.
“Ev, where are you from?”
“Nashville. You?”
“I was born in Chicago, but I kinda grew up in different towns throughout the Midwest. I could have sworn you were from France.”
“France huh? You’re very perceptive, mademoiselle Lexie. My parents are both from France, but I was born over here. Do you get back to Chicago often? I adore Chicago! The museums there are incredible.”
“Hmm. I never really went to the museums, but the shopping is incredible! I could live on the Magnificent Mile if it wasn’t for the blustery cold winter days. Hey, what do you think we should wear to meet with Laughlin today?”
“I’m going to dress civilian casual. I don’t want to get stuck on a long plane ride in my uniform. Not to mention, we still don’t know where we’re going!” Evie seemed perturbed by being a slight bit out of control. I had heard she was a bit of a control freak, but I guess you have to be when you’re a pilot.
“Maybe it’ll be someplace tropical,” I stated with a hopeful grin.
Evie shook her head at my naïve comment. “Oh sure Lexie, we’ll fight the bad guys aboard a Carnival Cruise.” She giggled and gave my hair a playful tug.
“Hey, a girl can dream,” I said with defensive playfulness.
“I’ll dream with you. I could use a good vacation, a good stiff drink, and a good massage from a nice hunk of beefcake.”
“I’ll bet Cam would be more than willing to have that job.” I twirled my hair through my fingers as I pictured his rippling muscles. Evie threw a pair of rolled up socks at my head.
“C’mon little daydreamer. We have to get going or Laughlin will make us clean the latrines.”
We had some leeway on dress, thank goodness. Evie tossed on a crisp pair of khaki shorts and a blue and white tank top. I felt a bit braver wearing civilian clothing after Evie dressed. I opted for a cute pair of pink and white hounds tooth shorts and a white summery off the shoulder sweater. Evie chose to wear tennis shoes. I, of course chose practical pumps that matched the pink in my shorts perfectly. Normally when flying, I’ll put my hair up, but today just felt like a good day to leave it long and flowing. I wrapped a hair tie around my wrist in case I felt like putting it up later. Evie did the same. I had five suitcases, plus my carry-on. Evie only had one suitcase and a small bag. I didn’t want to leave anything behind. The barracks didn’t really feel like home to me. We’d only arrived a week before the experiment for briefings, and I wasn’t sure if and when I would be returning. Evie took note of the pile of bags lying at the end of my bed.
“We’re only going to be gone for a couple of days, Lexie.”
“I’m the worst traveler. I can’t decide what I might need, so I just pack it all.”
“You’re hopeless
kiddo! At least you can get the fellas to carry all that.” We both laughed and headed for Laughlin’s office. We were early, yet the boy beat us there. They were eager to begin their first mission. The office was locked, so we all loitered outside the door waiting for Laughlin to arrive.
Chapter 2
The Briefing
Lexie
Laughlin arrived at precisely thirteen hundred hours. He unlocked the door to his unassuming office and we all filtered inside. Laughlin led us into a conference room located inside of his office. The walls were littered with surveillance photos, maps, and news clippings. The large wooden conference table was left empty with the exception of a slide projector that sat in the middle. Seven chairs surrounded the table. We all quietly took our seats. Laughlin dimmed the lights and the slide projector began to hum.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, at approximately zero one hundred hours today, The Bank of the Americas was completely drained of funds. The markets have crashed, and the world is about to spin into financial turmoil. At first glance it was believed to be hackers, but now we believe the situation to be far more serious than the theft of funds. Our computer experts at the Pentagon discovered the theft actually took place inside of BOTA or Bank of the Americas headquarters in Denver. Every penny the bank had simply vanished into cyberspace. The guys upstairs have decided to call it a sunburst robbery because most of the money ended up in millions of anonymous accounts throughout the country in small, untraceable amounts.”
Laughlin’s next slide was a flow chart depicting how the crime may have happened. Funds left BOTA, transferred into the Federal Reserve, then vanished in smaller amounts into various banks throughout the country, eventually ending up in the accounts of millions upon millions of unsuspecting Americans. “It’s as if the money exploded and fell to earth for the masses. There are so many transfers that it will take decades for the feds to find it all…Well except for the big amounts.” Laughlin actually chuckled a bit. “Donald Trump, Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment, and every big oil conglomerate had most of their assets drained and sent off to charities worldwide. I think they’ll be hard pressed to ask for that money back.” Laughlin stopped smirking and once again became serious. “ Understand Pride, there are only three men on earth, the banks CEO, CFO, and COO, with the knowledge, authority, and access to the computer linked to the Federal Reserve to pull off something of this magnitude, and they all have to enter their keys and codes simultaneously. It was supposed to be a fool- proof safe guard to protect the bank’s liquid assets. Each of those men have been questioned, and have no recollection of being in the building after twenty-one hundred hours. This has been confirmed by both surveillance footage and their spouses. Hell, the CFO was at a conference in Seattle with Bill Gates. The impossibility of this crime is mind- boggling. There were no apparent security breaches. Security personnel on site neither saw nor heard anything suspicious. The building was locked down tight, and there is no record of their badges being used for entry into the building. Two years ago in Switzerland, then one year ago in Japan, very similar occurrences took place. Each time unimaginable amounts of money just vanished. After the robbery of the Swiss banking system our government took note of small sums of money filtering frequently into the American bank accounts of an unknown start up sports entertainment company called rEvolution Wrestling. The deposits always came from foreign banks where we have no authority. Hundreds of deposits each day would come in, only to be transferred out almost immediately to hedge funds from Canada to the Caymans. The CIA and FBI were carefully watching and monitoring this company. Low and behold, the same scenario occurred after the Japanese robbery. Monies once again filtered through subsidiary accounts of this wrestling company. The proprietor is known only as Link. This guy had so many layers of protection, we almost didn’t find him. I can honestly say no living person that I know has laid eyes on him, and we still don’t know his real name, but we were starting to get a handle on the situation…or so we thought. We watched as his corporations purchased lavish homes throughout the country. His upstart company became successful overnight as he pumped ungodly amounts of money into it, purchasing a television network, and advertising in every city of our beloved country. Men, women, and children have gone crazy for this unseen force and his brood of incredibly talented wrestlers. We watched cautiously as his company legitimately purchased jets and helicopters with cash, but we believe he is also purchasing weapons of mass destruction from somewhere in China or possibly Russia. We can’t get close enough to obtain the proof. Link has yet to be seen, but his wrestlers are highly visible superstars. I’m sure you have heard of many of them. Pride, we believe Link and his brethren are behind these immense robberies. We have sent men in, yet none return. Two weeks ago, one of our agents posed as an investment manager from BOTA. He acted as if he was selling bank products and services to the wealthy of Lake Tahoe. Our agent was allowed in. We thought we had him. Our decoy safely left the property, but never returned home. He is presumed dead, and all of this was done right under our noses. Other investigators have attempted to infiltrate his compounds, but never return, and are also presumed dead. Our beloved country has been robbed of her money and her sons. I believe we already know the thief. Now it’s your job to catch him and bring him to justice.”
Cam spoke up. “Colonel, do you believe there to be any coincidence in the fact that our agent was pretending to be a BOTA rep, and the detail that BOTA was targeted?”
Laughlin thought carefully before choosing his words. “We do. Truth be told, we believe this was a strong message being sent to us about the capabilities of these thieves.”
I was intrigued, so I raised my hand before posing my question.
“Do you have something to add Love?” Laughlin was seemingly annoyed.
“Sir, how did they access the Federal Reserve system?” I asked timidly.
“That’s yet another billion dollar question we’re trying to answer. Right now we’re just trying to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It seems these monsters have the capabilities of wiping out the country as we know it with a few clicks on a keyboard. May I continue?”
We all nodded in agreement. The seriousness of the situation was resting on our shoulders, and you could see it in everyone’s eyes. Laughlin began to click through aerial photos of this Links homes in every region of the United States. Evie shifted nervously in her seat and raised her hand.
“Yes Bourocher,” Laughlin stated with deliberate authority.
“Sir, I assume we are to bring in multiple perpetrators, correct?”
“No, soldier. Your job is to seek and destroy.” Laughlin had an icy coldness in both his voice and eyes. Evie squirmed a bit, but still maintained her elegant composure.
“But he could be innocent!” Evie protested.
Laughlin slammed his hands down on the table in front of Evie, causing her to jump. He lowered himself so he was level with her eyes. His words were full of rage and spite as he yelled directly into Evie’s face. This was starting to feel like boot camp all over again. “Our brothers in arms have gone missing trying to spy on this guy, Bourocher. He is NOT innocent. Even if he didn’t commit the robberies I’ve mentioned, he’s guilty of killing innocent servants of the United States of America. That is justification enough for his destruction,” Laughlin shouted loudly at Evie.
The rest of us slunk deeper into our seats not sure how to respond. Evie decided it best to remain quiet for the remainder of the briefing. Laughlin continued his slide show. Click. House. Click. Map. Click. Forest. Click. Road. It was all very mind numbing. I was elated when Laughlin finally turned on the lights.
“Pride, this could be more dangerous than even I can anticipate. You are all very young and unpolished. Stick together, watch each other’s backs, and work in teams. I know it sounds remedial, but use the buddy system. If you get any inkling that things are getting too heated, get out immediately. We’ve spent too much money on your transformations to have you die be
fore the month is over. You will have to find Link, a man we know nothing about. We do not know what he is capable of, but we do know he is highly dangerous. You are dismissed.”
Laughlin actually looked concerned. I guess we were kind of like his children, and he was sending us off to our first day of school. He handed Lenny a dossier of information before he walked out the door. The Bronx Brothers followed Laughlin out the door. Lenny opened up the confidential black folder and read in silence for a few moments.
“Kids, we’re heading to Link’s Tahoe home. Domus Aurea, here we come!” Lenny grinned from ear to ear.
Cam looked confused. “Domus Aurea?”
Evie quickly chimed in. “Domus Aurea is Latin for Golden House. It was also what Roman Emperor Nero called his palace. I wonder for which it was named?” She pensively looked up to the clouds, trying to silently answer her own question.
“Guys, something about this doesn’t feel right,” I stated meekly.
“I agree with Lexie. It feels like we’re being sent in blind,” Evie declared with conviction.
Lenny answered Evie with just as much conviction. “Ev, you heard the Colonel. They can’t get info on this idiot. The recon men keep getting whacked,”
“Innocent until proven Guilty though. I’m with the girls. Shouldn’t this guy be put through the judicial system once we bring him in?” Cam questioned.
“Exactly!” I was elated to have Cam on our side.
“Look, these are our orders. If this guy was the Bin Laden’s predecessor, would we be hesitating?” Lenny was getting more irritated by the moment.
“But he’s not, Len.” I was calm but firm.
“Actually Lexie, he could be. Nobody has seen him.” Evie was suddenly switching sides.
“If he’s buying jets and weapons, he very well could be a security threat to the nation. He could be an associate or something.” Cam was a traitor now too.
“I guess it’s worth looking into, but I don’t have to be happy about it,” I said with a sigh.
The Pride Page 2