A Twist of Destiny Bk. 01

"So... you're taking it as a given that you'll eventually make that choice?"

With a shake of her head, like she was shaking cobwebs from her addled mind, my daughter took a step back and regarded me. "You probably better get going before I attack you and make you late. Love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, Babygirl." I smiled at her proudly and then 'ported myself into the briefing room at Project Odyssey.

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"Well," General Hannis told us after we'd all assembled in the briefing room later that morning, "after a close evaluation of your performance the other day, it seems like you've been green-lighted for full duty."

"What, exactly, does that mean, sir?" I asked from my chair.

"It means," the general said, "that training has been officially scrapped. The Secretary of Defense was very impressed with the video footage you provided for us. After a short discussion with the President, it's been decided that Team Alpha will start regular assignments effective immediately. In fact, you've already been given a new mission."

"I have a question," Aventine cut in. "We're called Team Alpha. Will there be a Beta team as well? I thought that we were the only ones to fully recover from The Procedure."

"There is no Team Beta as yet," Doctor Lamb answered, "but, as some of you know, a number of test subjects are undergoing therapy. We hope that they will eventually recover completely. If they do, we'll use them as a reserve unit. That is still in the planning stages, however."

"For now," General Hannis added, "you are our primary and only unit."

"So what's our next mission?" Tank asked.

"The capture of al Tariq was a boon," Hannis told us. "It didn't take him long to divulge knowledge about the Taliban's plans. Apparently, they've been receiving assistance from some members of the Pakistani government, which doesn't really come as a surprise. Unfortunately, that means relations with Pakistan will take a severe hit, but that's a matter of politics and doesn't really concern us right now. Our problem is that Pakistan is in possession of nuclear weapons. It's come to our attention that someone in the Pakistani government has been smuggling nuclear materials into Taliban hands so that the Taliban can create dirty bombs."

"Who and where, sir?" I asked immediately.

"Well, for political reasons, we can't expose Pakistan's involvement directly. Relations with them, after bin Laden was killed on their soil, have been tenuous at best. If we send you into their country, things will definitely get worse. Plus, we have to concede the possibility that the people responsible for giving these nuclear materials to the Taliban are acting without official sanction, working on their own without the government really knowing about it. And al Tariq doesn't seem to know who's responsible there, anyway. He was, however, able to tell us where the Taliban have their newly-acquired nuclear materials stored and that's where we expect to send you."

"I see a problem," I said. "If we find those materials, we'll then be able to directly link Pakistan to the problem, right?" The general nodded. "Well, how are we going to explain how we captured that evidence?"

"We're working on that," was the general's thin-lipped reply. Something in his demeanor indicated, to me, that he didn't much care for the solution that was being considered, but he didn't say anything more on the subject. "For now, I want you to focus on the mission at hand." He turned to the TV monitor that was on the wall behind him. It came to life when he pointed a remote control at it. "The location of the Taliban's test facility is here, in the eastern region of Afghanistan, near Jalalabad, right next to the Kabul River. Recent activity there has shown us that the area has high enemy activity and appears to be a sort of headquarters for them. The information we got from al Tariq says that this test facility has been in place for several months now and intelligence seems to support it. Unfortunately, it's a high-populated area, so we're expecting that you won't be able to keep your presence a secret. Normally we'd send in a Special Forces team to capture the facility, but with nuclear material on the premises, that could end in disaster and it might take too long. We'll have normal troops standing by to make it look like it was a military action, but, still, with so many civilians in the area we've pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that the cat will be out of the bag by the time you're done."

"I can kill all electronics in the area like I did on the first mission," Aventine suggested. "No electronics, no way to report it."

Hannis shook his head. "No. In theory it sounds like a good idea, but it's too risky. There's no way to tell how far along they've gotten with making actual dirty bombs. If you disable anything that's containing the nuclear materials we could have a much larger problem on our hands. The collateral damage might be devastating."

"So we just go in, take everyone out and clear the building?" Tank asked. "That might be worse."

"Leviathan's method of destroying that tunnel system in your first mission gave our mission planners some ideas," General Hannis said. "It might work well as an opening act in the mission."

"Not a problem," Leviathan said. "I can use the water from the Kabul River as a supply source. I should be able to flood the place in a matter of seconds."

I stood up and approached the video screen. I could see the layout of the building we'd be attacking. "Once Levi floods the place, Aventine and I can go in through here," I said, pointing to a large storage area. "That's probably where they're doing the majority of their testing. Tank can go in here," I pointed to another section of the building, "and take out any threats. Meanwhile, Leviathan can use any residual water from the flood to subdue enemy elements all around the building."

"Okay," General Hannis said, "but what are you going to do if you find the nuclear materials aren't safely contained?"

"We haven't determined how radiation might affect you," Doctor Lamb noted. "Your healing abilities might be able to compensate... or they might not."

I stroked my chin as I thought about it. Suddenly an idea came to me. "Okay, scrap the first plan. Levi floods the place. Aventine and Tank will scout the place for outside threats and eliminate them as needed. Leviathan and I will go inside to look for the materials and I can handle any possible threats once we're in. If- no. When we find the materials, I can create lead-lined gloves for Leviathan to use to pick up the materials which will be placed inside a container that I can create on site."

"What?" Leviathan broke in with alarm. "Why me?"

"Because you can phase the parts of your body that aren't covered by the gloves and not be affected by radiation poisoning," I answered. "You can leave just your hands un-phased, right?"

Levi blinked at that owlishly for a moment and then looked at Aventine. "Would you have thought of that?" Aventine silently shook her head in reply then Levi looked at me. "I take back everything I said about you being the wrong choice for leadership."

I did a double-take at that but chose not to dignify his comment with a response. "Any other ideas or does that sound like a mission plan?"

"I have one," Doctor Lamb said. We all looked at her in surprise. "Just because I'm not a soldier does not mean I don't have good ideas on occasion."

"Noted," I said mildly. "In point of fact, we wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for some of your very good ideas, Doctor. Go ahead."

"Well, it seems to me that your plans so far have relied heavily on surprise and using your abilities to their maximum potential. In some cases I can understand how this might be enticing, but sometimes it's perfectly acceptable to take a more subtle approach."

"Such as?" Aventine prodded.

The doctor pointed at me casually. "He can mimic anyone. Why not just wait for one of the people inside the building to come out, capture him and then send NightShade in under disguise? He can walk in without anyone noticing, find out where the materials are exactly and walk right back out or begin the attack from within. As soon as he gives the signal, the rest of you descend upon the building while he secures the interior."

"I take back my take-back," Leviathan said. "She should be the leader."

I rolled my eyes at the young sailor. "You can't take back a take-back, Levi," I told him. "All in favor of the Doctor's plan, say aye." Everyone in the room, including General Hannis, voiced their agreement. "The ayes have it. I'll go in, scout out the interior and, when I give the word, you three rip the place apart. Levi, can you somehow manage to direct your flood so that it washes out everything except for a specific area?"

"With my eyes closed, Boss."

"Don't call me Boss. Aventine, you and Tank come in after Leviathan floods the place. I should be able to lock down the containment center by the time you arrive."

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There's a saying, I don't know who said it, but it goes something like this: all military plans go the way of the dodo after the first volley. Which is to say, of course, that it all falls to shit from the word "go." Sometimes, as with our first mission, that maxim can be proven false. Generally speaking, however, it's a fairly prescient saying- our second mission didn't go anything like how we'd planned it. It was successful, but the end result was not entirely expected.

Aventine dropped Leviathan off next to the river, which had a good line-of-sight with our objective. No one spotted us or bothered him, which seemed like a good sign. After she dropped him off, Aventine doubled back to join Tank in his hidden position while they waited for me to give the order to attack. When I flew directly over the building, however, is when things went sideways. I floated above the building's roof, about five hundred feet in the air, and was paying close attention to the main entrance. I was not, however, paying close attention to the access door on the roof. One of the workers inside the building had come outside to have a smoke and, as he opened the door, happened to be looking upwards to check the weather before coming outside. Naturally, he saw me before I saw him.

I heard the door slam shut, which was quickly followed by a lot of shouting. By then, of course, it was too late- the alarm had been raised. Like rats fleeing a ship, Taliban guards began to run out onto the roof from four separate points and started firing their weapons at me. It didn't hurt me a bit; I was more concerned about how badly the mission was blown so quickly.

"Attack!" I growled into my comm mic. "They've spotted me!"

I returned fire with energy bolts at every visible target as quickly as I could. The enemy, at first, seemed confused but when faced with the threat that I posed, they didn't hesitate to regroup and start looking for ways to hurt me. I decided that wasting my time with enemy elements on the rooftop wasn't going to do me much good, so I went for broke and focused all my attention on the center of the roof with a powerful energy bolt that slammed into it loudly. Within seconds, as the smoke cleared, I saw that I'd made a hole big enough to fly through in the roof and dove towards it. "Aventine, there's some guys on the roof. See if you can take them out. I'm going in."

"Roger that," was her quick reply. Even as I neared the hole I'd made in the roof, I saw a blur in my peripheral vision appear on the rooftop and the few fighters who'd started to run towards me began losing their heads one by one.

As soon as I got inside the building I began to draw fire from other fighters who hadn't yet made it to the roof. I didn't even bother to hide from them and, using a mix of telekinesis and energy bolts, made quick work of either disarming or dispatching my opponents. As the last man in my area fell I heard a massive crashing sound come from the level below me which was immediately followed by angry shouts and sporadic gunfire. Tank, I knew, had arrived on the scene. I took a moment to get my bearings and looked around. The second story was split up into a number of subsections by walls of canvas or linens. I could see personal belongings and bunks all over the place, which led me to the conclusion that the second level of the building was being used as some sort of barracks while the real work was being done downstairs.

While Tank engaged the enemy downstairs and Aventine began to take out anyone who ran out of the building, I telekinetically swept all the temporary partitions down in one motion and determined that the second story was clear. "Leviathan," I called out, "flood the place now! Tank, finish up down there quick and come upstairs. It's about to get wet down there."

I heard a loud yell from the level below me and a very loud crashing sound. Suddenly the floor shook a little as Tank punched his way through the ceiling, having decided that taking the stairs would take too long. Seconds later a hole appeared in the floor and Tank launched himself up through it. He was covered in blood and dust from the fight he'd just been in but he looked unharmed and actually pretty pleased with himself. He glanced around us, noting that I'd already eliminated all threats on this floor, and smiled at me. "So much for the clandestine approach," he grumbled. "First level's clear."

"Levi! Belay that order!," I barked into my mic. "Main floor is clear."

"I can't stop it entirely, Boss, but I can dial it down a bit."

Tank and I both looked down into the hole he'd just come up from and saw water quickly cover the floor. A few tables and chairs moved around in the ankle-deep flood of water, but everything else looked pretty much okay- excepting, of course, the twenty-odd Taliban corpses that shifted around listlessly in the water. A few seconds later the water receded, leaving behind a merely wet floor. We both jumped down through the hole and looked around.

"Jesus, what a mess!"

"No kiddin'," Tank agreed. "How in the hell are we gonna find the materials in all of that crap?"

I pulled out a steel ball, concentrated on turning it into a Geiger counter and, when it reshaped itself into the device I wanted, began to wave the sensor in all directions. It clicked like mad when I pointed it towards the back of the facility. I don't know much about dealing with nuclear materials, but I know enough to understand that a wildly-ticking Geiger counter is very bad news. The whole back area was radioactive. "Shit."

"What is it?" Aventine asked.

"We might as well be standing in the middle of Chernobyl," Tank said. "It's like they didn't even bother with safety protocols."

"This is exactly what I was hoping to avoid, dammit!" I complained. "Aventine, are there any more fighters out there?"

"Not as of a few seconds ago, no," she replied. "The coast is clear outside."

I tapped a button on my ear piece to switch to an encrypted Army frequency. "Support elements, Alpha Main."

"Alpha Main, Two-SixMike. Send it," replied the support team's radio operator.

"Two-Six Mike, we need a HazMat team in here now. We're reading high concentrations of radioactive material in here. We're pretty sure that it's contained to just this building, but there's no way to find it quickly without risk of exposure. All enemy threats are neutralized, so aside from the radiation, it's safe."

"Roger, Alpha Main. HazMat team will arrive in three mikes. Over."

"Three minutes, copy. We'll be waiting." I switched over to our internal channel. "Okay, people. A HazMat team is coming in to inspect the place. The first thing I want to be sure of is that neither Tank nor myself has been explosed to anything that might be potentially lethal."

"That could be sticky, Boss," Leviathan replied. "It'll be hard to explain how a seven-foot-tall behemoth and a guy wearing a mask took out over thirty men."

"He's right, NightShade," Aventined agreed. "Then again, the general did say that making our existence known was expected. Leviathan and I can hold back and wait for your commands. No sense in revealing all of us at once, is there?"

I could hear the HazMat vehicle pulling up outside the building as I said, "Indeed there isn't. Stay put, you two. I'll let you know when we're done here." Just then six Army soldiers burst through the front doors, their weapons raised, and immediately fixed their attention (and aim) on me and Tank.

"Hold your fire!" I called to them. "We're friendlies!" I focused my vision to the rank patches on each soldier's HazMat uniform and picked out the sergeant in charge. "Sergeant Cosloski, I am Codename NightShade and I'm in charge of this mission. We're part of an elite team of U.S. soldiers. All the dead bodies you see around here are our doing. For all intents and purposes, we represent Team Alpha. Please lower your weapons and stand down."

Sergeant Cosloski's cool and collected answer: "I don't fucking care if you're Mickey Mouse, get the fuck down on the ground. Now!"

I took a deep breath and sighed. "Son, this isn't an episode of COPS. There's radioactive material just a few meters behind me and I would very much like to know if we've been lethally exposed. You can either do your jobs and check on our safety or I can disarm you and we can review your role here."

"I SAID GET DOWN NOW!" Cosloski screamed through his gas mask as he pointed his M-16 directly at me.

I glanced at Tank, who hadn't bothered to hold his hands up in surrender any more than I had, and then looked back at the nervous HazMat sergeant. With a flick of my fingers, all six soldiers quickly found themselves disarmed and suddenly lying face-first on the ground, unable to pick themselves back up. I walked over to Cosloski and knelt beside him while he uselessly struggled to move and cursed at me. "Calm down, sergeant, you might tear a hole in your radiation suit. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I might," Tank put in. "Fucking assholes pointed weapons at us."

"You saw that big guy standing next to me? His name's Tank. From the Marines. He and I get along okay, but you know how the Marines tend to feel about the Army, right? For now he's under my command, so he won't really hurt you unless I allow it because I'm not going to let a Marine hurt one of my brothers. Now... if I release you boys and give you back your weapons, will you promise to behave and stop acting like a jack-ass?"

"Who the fuck are you?"

"I told you, I'm NightShade and he's Tank. We're soldiers, just like you."

"Fuck that," Tank growled. "We're lightyears apart from the likes o' you!"

"Okay, I'll amend that: we're super-soldiers, not at all like you, but on the same team. Our mission was to infiltrate this facility, locate hidden nuclear material and remove it after eliminating any Taliban threats. Shit went sideways, of course, so we've had to call you in to check the place out before we continue with our mission. You were told to stand by and respond to any requests made by Alpha Main, right? So use your fucking head. Who the hell do you think called you in here? I'll give you a clue: it wasn't any of the dead assholes lying around in here."

"You?"

I glanced up at Tank. "See, buddy? I told you that not all Army soldiers were dumb. Sergeant Cosloski, do I have your word that you'll be a good boy if I let you up?"

"Uhh..."

I stood up and stepped back to stop next to Tank. With a movement of my wrist, I lifted Cosloski into the air and righted him so that he could look around. "Let me ask you a different question, then. If I can hold all six of you down with nothing but a thought and keep you immobile, do you really think that you and your team pose any kind of a threat to us? Doesn't it occur to you that if I had any intention of killing you boys, I'd have done it by now?"