Beginnings

by Sandra R Neeley

  Law and his supporting governing board were front and center when both guards arrived. Several of the males that were on Law’s squad while in captivity joined him and the board while they waited for the guards to arrive. When the males came into view, looking up at the building they were being forced into and met Law’s gaze, then realized some of the males with him, were the same exact males they’d once abused and treated as less than human, one of them actually broke into tears.

  Law stepped in front of the sobbing man. “Welcome to my world. My name is now Law. These males have elected me as their representative. We make the rules everyone here abides by. Bet you’re not half as happy to be here as we are to have you.”

  One of the guards just glared at him with a defiant look on his face. “You can’t get away with this. You have no right to hold me against my will. This is kidnapping,” he said.

  Law smiled. “It is. And you know what? It was kidnapping when you held us against our will, too.”

  “You can’t get away with this!” he repeated.

  “This is a government sanctioned mission,” General Ferriday said, stepping forward to be noticed in his full uniform with stars on his shoulders. “There is nothing to get away with. It’s all been methodically planned out and approved by the United States Government. You and others like you will answer for your atrocities. Welcome to Alliance, home of the Variant people.”

  The two guards were escorted inside and locked in cells. They each had one bunk, one thin blanket, one toilet, and one sink. They were housed next to each other, so their mutual fear could continue to make them both miserable.

  Brutal walked into the area of the jail that held the holding cells and strolled down the wide walkway between them. He came to a stop outside the cells and simply watched both men. One sat on his bunk, literally trembling. The other paced back and forth, clearly terrified, his adrenalin preventing him from even taking a seat.

  “Welcome to Alliance,” he said.

  Both men looked up at him.

  “This is my jail. I run security here. You’ll be fed when I choose, if I choose. You’ll be bathed when I choose, if I choose. You’ll be beaten when I choose, if I choose. And if I get bored, maybe I’ll let you out and sound the alarm to let the others know you’ve escaped.”

  “You can’t do that! They’ll kill us!” the trembling man said, his voice rising to a high pitch.

  “We could just cattle prod them,” a familiar voice suggested. “That’s what they used to do to the males. Or, we could rape ‘em with the cattle prod. ‘Cause I’m sure as hell not fucking ‘em, so unless somebody else wants to, I vote cattle prod for that, too,” Hal said.

  “Jessupson! Get us the hell out of here! Call somebody!” one of the incarcerated guards demanded, recognizing his fellow former guard.

  “Yeah, no. Not going to happen. I’ve been here for a while. Doing my best to help them locate as many of you fucks as I can,” Hal answered. “Started trying to find anybody to listen as soon as I realized what you were doing to these people, just took a while for them to notice me. But, now, I’ve worked my way up to employee,” Hal said proudly, pointing at the navy blue uniform he was wearing with the Alliance logo on it.

  “You’re as guilty as we are!” the man accused.

  Hal shook his head. “I never raped a single one of those people. I never beat them, or starved them. And when you and your buddies denied them food or medical care, I went back after you left and fed them, and did the best I could with first aid. They know it first hand. They were the ones I helped the best I could. I only stayed there to do what little I could to make up for the abuse you and others like you loved to deliver, Carl.”

  “Fuck you!” Carl shouted.

  “No, fuck you. This is just the beginning. The entire fucked up operation is coming down. This place will be filled with assholes like you who tortured these poor people. And I’m going to applaud every one of you that’s brought in. I sincerely hope Brutal sets you free so you can run. And I hope he allows me to watch when all those males out there catch you,” Hal said.

  “You actually trust him? He belongs in here with us,” Carl snapped at Brutal.

  “No,” Brutal said. “Every word he spoke is true. Every claim he’s made to us has been confirmed by multiple former prisoners of the facility you lorded it over. Welcome to YOUR own personal hell. I hope you’ll be as happy as we were.”

  Brutal and Jessupson turned and walked toward the exit doors that would lead them into the administration parts of the jail. “Oh,” Jessupson said to Brutal, “if you don’t mind, it’s about time for Lethal to arrive with his capture. You mind if I go down to watch?”

  “No, go right ahead. There are so many males keeping an eye on this jail and milling around just waiting for their chance to get their hands on these prisoners, I’m not the least concerned that they’ll get away,” Brutal answered.

  “Thanks, Boss,” Jessupson said. Then he turned around, tapping his lip with his forefinger as he made a show of thinking about something. “You know,” he said, smiling at Carl. “I think you know Lethal. Oh, that’s right, you knew him by another name — One. You remember One, don’t you? From Squad A?” Jessupson asked. “His name is Lethal now, and he’s more deadly and unpredictable than he ever was. And he’s still super pissed off that you abused his female and shipped him away from her. He’ll be happy to see you again.”

  “That wasn’t us! The doctor shipped him off!” Carl yelled, rushing to the bars of the cell he was locked in and seeming outright terrified instead of angry for the first time.

  Brutal and Jessupson walked into the administration offices of the jail and smiled at each other as Brutal locked the door to the cells securely behind them.

  “For the record, Jimmy, the one that’s shaking he’s so scared,” Jessupson said.

  “Yeah?” Brutal asked, strolling over to take a seat at his desk.

  “He wasn’t as bad as the others. He did exactly what the doctor said, when the doctor said, but he didn’t rape the women, and he only used the prod when he had to, to break up fights, as far as I know anyway. So, if you choose someone to make an example of, you may want to give him a break and choose another,” Jessupson said.

  “I’ll take it under advisement. But I believe I’ll let Law, Lethal and their squads determine what happens to them, and how they’re questioned,” Brutal answered. “Fortunately for them I’m a bit more humane than they ever were. If someone deserves the pain, they’ll get it. If someone doesn’t — you for instance — they don’t.”

  Jessupson nodded and took a seat at the other desk in the large front room of the jail.

  “You’re not going to watch Lethal arrive?” Brutal asked.

  “Nope. Just wanted Carl to know he was here. He was particularly hard on Lethal. Can’t wait for them to arrive.”

  Twenty minutes later Lethal, Nina and their team, flanked by the General and Law, entered the jail with David in tow.

  “Welcome to Hell!” Jessupson called out happily when they pulled the door open and walked inside with their prisoner.

  Scorn chuckled. “Thanks!”

  “So, who do you have here?” Brutal asked, getting to his feet.

  “Computer programmer and IT genius formerly employed by Waller to implement all his requirements in a software system. He also spearheaded the development of the collars we were all fitted with and the programs that operated them, including the one that gave the order to inject and kill us at the push of one button,” Steel answered.

  “Well, we’re particularly happy to see you,” Brutal said, walking around his desk.

  “He’s a wealth of information, Brutal. We need him alive,” General Ferriday said.

  “Not forever,” Lethal answered.

  “Where do you want him?” Law asked.

  Jessupson unlocked the door leading to the cells and held it open as the squad, Brutal and Law passed through.

  “I’ll be glad to hand his ass
off. He has not stopped talking the entire trip back here,” Scorn said.

  “Excellent. We’ll take all the information we can get,” Law answered.

  “It’ll be on the recording of the mission. I pressed my body cam the moment he started confessing,” Nina answered.

  She’d come to a stop in front of a cell as the others escorted David to a cell at the other end of the cell block. She stood perfectly still watching the man inside sneer at her. This was one of the guards that had raped her and the other women whenever he got the urge. He was also one of them that had no problem slapping or shoving them around.

  “You’re not going to get away with this!” he said to Nina.

  “Looks like we did,” she answered.

  “I’ll get out and when I do, I’ll see to it that you’re caged like you used to be. I’ll make sure that what you’ve already been through is a cakewalk compared to the way you’ll be treated!” Carl yelled at Nina.

  “Fuck you, asshole,” Nina answered. “You’ll never get out.”

  “No, fuck you!” he shouted. “Oh, wait, I already did,” he said, smiling evilly at her.

  Nina simply watched him for a second longer, then she shrugged, pulled her gun out of the holster at her side, and shot him in the knee.

  Carl screamed and fell to the ground grasping his knee. “She shot me! She fucking shot me!” he screamed.

  Lethal was at her side before Carl even hit the ground.

  Nina looked up at him as the rest of her team arrived beside them, then she turned toward Carl again as vile threats continued to fall from his lips as he pulled himself up on his bunk. She raised her gun and shot him in the other knee. Carl collapsed on the floor, writhing while a constant scream filled the cell block.

  Nina looked over at Brutal who’d stepped up on her other side. “Unlock the cell.”

  Brutal hesitated.

  “He raped me,” she said, slowly with emphasis on each word.

  Brutal nodded and stepped forward to unlock the cell door. He pulled the door open and stepped back out of the way.

  Nina walked into the cell and looked down over the writhing man on the floor. “Hey!” she shouted.

  The man went from blood curdling screams to whimpers but focused on her the best he could.

  Nina held out the gun again and shot him in the shoulder.

  “We may need some information…” General Ferriday tried to say.

  “We have all we need from the one we just brought in,” Valor interrupted.

  Nina nudged the now quiet Carl with the toe of her boot. When she got no reaction she looked up at Lethal who was standing beside her. “He passed out,” she said simply.

  “I got it,” he answered. He leaned over and snatched Carl off the ground, then dragged him over to the sink and turned on the cold water. He shoved Carl’s face into the water until he started sputtering, then Lethal dragged him back over to where Nina waited and dropped him back on the floor.

  Nina looked down at the man who was emitting a high pitched whine and sobbing. She held her gun out once more and shot him in the other shoulder.

  Carl screamed again and lay there crying like a baby.

  “Not so fucking big and bad now are you, asshole?” Lethal asked.

  Carl tried to focus on Lethal as he squatted down beside him. “Please,” he begged.

  Lethal looked down at the man, bleeding all over the floor of the cell. “Seems to me, you got what you deserved. My female, it turns out, is a lot more cold blooded than I am. I like it!” Lethal said enthusiastically.

  Nina stepped closer and Carl struggled to turn his head toward her. “I need you to move, my love,” she said calmly.

  “Okay,” Lethal answered, getting to his feet and stepping behind her. “What do you have planned next?” he asked.

  “I’m going to shoot his dick off,” Nina answered.

  “No!” Carl shrieked. “I’m sorry,” he cried, literally.

  “Not sorry enough,” Nina answered, as she fired into his groin and smiled as the blood poured from his body. She smiled up at Lethal.

  “Done?” he asked.

  “For now,” Nina answered, holstering her weapon as she exited the cell. She paused outside Jimmy’s cell and cocked her head just slightly to the side as she watched him. “You weren’t as bad as the rest,” she said simply.

  Jimmy shook his head almost uncontrollably. “I tried to report what the others were doing to the doctor. He just laughed. But I never, ever hurt any of you myself.”

  “You didn’t stop them either,” she said.

  “I tried. I pulled you out of Squad B’s cell block when Carl threw you in. I suggested the doctor not kill you when he planned to. I told him you’d be more valuable as One’s female, you didn’t deserve to be killed.”

  Nina just watched the male for an uncomfortable amount of time. Finally she straightened her shoulders and seemed to have come to a decision. “I won’t kill you. Thank you for getting me away from squad B.”

  Jimmy didn’t answer, his body was still trembling.

  “Maybe don’t hurt this one as long as he cooperates,” Nina said to Brutal.

  “We can try,” Brutal answered, winking at her.

  She looked around and found Scorn, Steel, Valor, and Feral all watching her. “What?” she asked.

  Scorn held up his closed fist for her to bump, as did Valor, Steel and Feral. She bumped their fists then walked past Brutal, Law, and General Ferriday.

  “Remind me to keep her out of the jail until I have a chance to question anybody we take into custody,” Law said to no one in particular.

  “You hungry?” Lethal asked her as they walked out of the cell block.

  “I could eat,” Nina said, smiling up at him.

  Chapter 55

  Bryant shoved the raggedy screen door open, and staggered out onto his faded, warped and creaking, wooden front porch. He chugged the rest of the beer he held in his hand and watched the dark colored SUV as it drove up the dirt road leading to his house. Crumpling the can and tossing it carelessly to the side, he walked down the steps to meet the vehicle as it came to a stop just inside his front yard.

  “The fuck is this?” he said to himself as he waited for whoever was driving to exit the vehicle.

  Nina put the car in park and watched the man who’d made her life miserable for more years than she cared to remember. Not only had he beaten her relentlessly during their marriage, she was ninety-nine percent sure he was the one responsible for her ending up under Waller’s control for use as a reward.

  “Let me help,” Lethal said from the passenger side.

  “No. I get to do this,” she answered.

  “But I really want to hurt him,” Lethal answered.

  “I want to beat him senseless. I want him to know that I’ve overcome everything and that it’s me who’s bringing karma to his door,” Nina said.

  “Then can I hurt him?” Lethal asked.

  “Maybe, we’ll see if there’s anything left,” Nina answered.

  Lethal flashed a toothy grin over his shoulder to the rest of their team who were sitting patiently, watching Nina’s former piece of shit husband glaring at the vehicle he couldn’t see into.

  Nina opened the door and got out as Lethal and his males cracked the windows, so they could hear more clearly. She walked toward the front of the vehicle and slowly removed her helmet so that he could see who she was.

  His eyes rounded and his ever present disgusting smirk fell from his face when he saw it was Nina.

  “Hello, husband-dear,” she said with no emotion at all.

  Bryant looked around, then at the vehicle once more before concentrating on Nina.

  “The fuck are you doing here? You should be dead by now,” he said.

  “And why would I be dead? I would have thought you’d have been worried about me missing all this time,” Nina responded.

  Bryant scratched his scruffy, unshaven face as he thought about it. “Figured you lef
t me. Didn’t know a good thing when you had it.”

  “Ah, is that how it was? Then please explain to me how I was beaten unconscious here in this yard,” she looked down at the ground beneath her feet, “almost exactly where I’m standing, only to wake up having been sold to a medical facility?”

  Bryant grinned and huffed a laugh. “Stranger things have happened. You don’t mind your place, you pay the consequences.”

  “You out of beer, Bryant!” a male voice called from inside the house before the screen door flew open and bounced off the exterior wall as Caul walked out onto the porch in the midst of a huge belch.

  Bryant held Nina’s stare as he smiled at her. “Shame you slept through the goodbye party. Caul there made sure you were good and fucked before we sent you off. Thought he was going to suck that pussy dry before he finally decided to fuck you. It was hot. Decided to have a round with you myself after you were good and messy.”

  The passenger side door of the vehicle opened, and Lethal placed his right foot on the ground, leaving his left in the SUV. He took aim at Caul and put a bullet between his eyes, dropping him in his tracks on the dilapidated porch.

  Lethal didn't say a word, he simply got back in the car and calmly closed the door.

  “The fuck, Nina?!” Bryant shouted, looking over his shoulder at Caul lying perfectly still where he’d dropped on the porch.

  “Oops. Sorry,” Nina replied.

  “I’ll kill your fucking ass,” Bryant cursed, beginning to move toward her.

  Nina smiled. “I’d hoped you want to play.”

  Nina started toward Bryant, setting her helmet on the hood of the SUV as she moved past it. She appeared to be deceptively calm, just watching him as they approached each other. They met at a point about ten feet in front of the SUV, and Bryant, in typical good ole boy fashion, tried to take a swing at her that started way out to his right hand side.

  Nina stepped into his punch, turned her back to his front, grasped his arm and used the momentum of his swing and body weight to throw him over her shoulder to the ground in front of her. Before she darted out of reach, she brought her boot down on his face, breaking his nose and causing blood to gush all over his face.