Demigods Read online

  “I believe that he was referring to me,” Viper replied, as she walked in from the kitchen, with a plate of appetizing, stuffed mushrooms. “I am the one he has trouble digesting.”

  “And I am not so certain that you are the lesser of two evils,” the Colonel added, without looking up at her.

  She set the plate on the table. They were baby bellas, stuffed with tenderloin tips and caramelized onions, draped with a roasted garlic béarnaise, but hardly did Colonel Mallory notice them. Anthony, on the other hand, treated them like finger food, despite the fact that they were hardly so.

  “I am no different than an enhanced version of the men that you have guarding you,” she spoke in a gentle tone. “The true enemy is the one that can steal every secret you have, right out of your own mind, without you ever even knowing it.”

  Certainly, Colonel Mallory thought there was much logic to this statement, but the man hanging by a harness, outside of a removed window, left a bitter taste in his mouth. This is why the mushrooms had no appeal to him. This was where his heart drew the line. Captain Pierce was one of them, and the others were not, but circumstances created… difficulties.

  “Consider him a fishing lure,” she continued, as she planted her hands on the table. “You use one to catch a fish, but when it is over, you do not throw away the lure.”

  She was lying, of course, for Captain Pierce was her primary target, yet she chose to hold true to her promise of making the witch watch him die. Perhaps she would even be so torn by the loss, knowing that other humans helped her do such a thing, that she would join her. Together they would be unstoppable.

  “Why is he unconscious then?”

  “That witch used the power that you gave her, to make him believe that he loves her,” she said with a bit of frustration. “Can’t you see what we are dealing with?”

  “I can,” Anthony replied, before stuffing another mushroom into his face.

  “If she gets in here, and survives,” Viper went on, “she will know everything that you have done with this man.”

  This is what made him complacent. This was the only reason that he didn’t leave right now, and if he had his way, he would see them both die tonight. His men had such orders, and he only hoped that they were up to the task, for he was much older than they were. Viper’s effect on him was far less than theirs, but he trusted their training, and he prayed for the best.

  * * *

  “Ground control to ground units. I am seeing multiple targets converging on site.”

  “Copy that, ground control,” came Bulldog’s reply.

  “Not seeing anything,” Grapes responded.

  “Keep your eyes open,” the Colonel added.

  It was a tense moment. One that everyone was expecting, yet certainly uncertain how to deal with. She was a freak of science, and the fear factor was intensified.

  “If you see multiple targets,” Viper added over the com, “then it means that she is near you. She is manipulating your mind! Stand ready!”

  The Colonel and Anthony stayed where they were. They were kings, not pawns, and a mere look set things into motion, with those who were assigned to them. Too bad that the queen is the most powerful piece on the chess board.

  “If she has control of his mind,” Viper stated calmly, “then our intelligence has been compromised, if not for the fact that I have set up secondary surveillance in the kitchen.”

  Viper began to pace, anxious for the encounter, and the four bodyguards positioned themselves, in strategic locations around the elevator. Something would be happening soon, and they were all to stand at the ready.

  “What do you think our chances are?” Anthony asked, before devouring yet another one of the delectable, stuffed mushrooms.

  “Pretty good,” the Colonel replied, “considering that she isn’t the one who has been killing people. These are different circumstances, however.”

  Anthony leaned back, a little curious.

  “How so?”

  Finally, the Colonel decided to taste the appetizer, before answering the question. He found slight delight upon the look in Anthony’s eyes. It was the look of uncertainty, and until now, he had only expressed confidence. The bite was astoundingly good, so he prolonged the moment. Right up until he thought that Anthony might speak again.

  “The man that is hanging out there, is believed to be Mirage's lover,” he stated, “and the woman that you put your trust in, not only intends to kill him, but has killed a few of her friends already.”

  Anthony sat still for a moment, and stopped chewing, to ponder upon such a statement, until, finally, he mumbled with a mouthful.

  “Is she that good?”

  The Colonel ate another, before he gave the answer that would truly give Anthony worry.

  “Mirage was designed to conquer small governments,” he replied, “and we think that she is more powerful than we first believed, which is the very reason that I am here.”

  He delighted in the even greater look of worry upon the Mafia Don’s face, but he hadn’t even begun to tell him the truth about Viper.

  * * *

  “How the hell am I supposed to coordinate things down here, if she’s in my freakin’ head?”

  “Stay calm, Jenkins,” Grapes replied, too nervous to follow protocol. “She can’t stop us all.”

  “Amen to that,” came Bulldog’s reply.

  “I’m still seeing people everywhere,” Corporal Jenkins shouted nervously. “I can’t do this with her in my head!”

  “Just stay calm!”

  There was a brief moment of silence, before Corporal Jenkins spoke into the com once more.

  They’re all gone,” he gasped. “They all just vanished.”

  His tone was one more of questioning, than it was actually a statement. They had been briefed on what Viper was capable of, and the four men on the ground believed that she was the one that they were waiting for. Obviously, there was more to this than they had been told, and the three Marines on the ground began to question everything, if only to themselves.

  The two assassins on the observation deck scanned the grounds below, not seeing a thing. They knew what to expect, and understood that Mirage was out there, somewhere, but nothing presented itself. She was a ghost, and worry began to consume them, as well.

  “She’s on the observation deck!” Jenkins shouted. “I swear, I just saw her moving up there!”

  “The witch came in from the top,” Viper mumbled to herself, though it hadn’t gone unnoticed.

  “We need to move you out of here, Colonel,” one of his security officers stated, with great authority. “This location has been compromised.”

  Anthony would have thought that his men would have said the same, yet each of them turned their weapons upon the Colonels Marines, and dropped them where they stood. This, of course, left him a little confused, since he gave no such order. Viper’s next action, however, made his mind very clear, as to what was happening.

  Without warning, she thrust a metal spike into the top of his head, and then pushed him face down, upon the table, where the Colonel still sat.

  “I didn’t bring you along for your help, Colonel,” she snarled at him, eye to eye, before standing back up, and walking away. “I brought you to see that I am now the Don of the Mastro Family, and that your favors now belong to me.”

  Viper could easily sense his rage. It was in his heartbeat, and in his breathing, but he remained in his place. She understood that his response would come in such a way, but she cared not. He would also comply, for it wasn’t only his honor that depended on it. It was for the lives of his wife and children, not to mention his grandchildren, that he was concerned about. He had made a deal with the devil, though only understood now, how evil the devil actually was.

  “Now, get over it,” she snarled, without looking back.

  “Sky one!“ Jenkins shouted into the com. “She’s right behind you!”

  The man turned, just in time to see a spider, the size of a
large dog, leap at him. He had no time to pull the trigger on his pistol, before it was knocked away, and the large arachnid began pecking towards his face. What a horrible way to die.

  Being deathly afraid of spiders, all that the assassin could do now, was to flail his arms wildly, trying with every attempt, to get the creature off of him. He rolled to one side, and was thankful to find his feet for a moment, but once again it was upon him.

  As he fell to the ground, he tried to turn himself, in an attempt to throw the spider away. It worked for a moment, but the spider was much too quick for him. All that was left for him now, was the unconsciousness brought on by such a great fear.

  “Sky two, your man is down,” Jenkins called out. “I have no idea what happened, but you had better prepare yourself. No line of sight, at the moment.”

  Quietly, Grapes crept up alongside of Bulldog, and nearly made him piss his pants.

  “I don’t think that this is an approved operation.”

  “Dude, get off of me,” Bulldog shouted, having nearly turned his weapon upon his own friend. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m serious,“ Grapes continued. “This doesn’t smell like wine.”

  “Tell me where she is, Ground Control!” Sky Two shouted from his location on the observation deck. “I don’t see anyone.”

  This was a bit scary, since he should have seen her with the goggles he was wearing, even if she was hiding behind something. At this, he tore them off, and tossed them to the floor, for now they were only a burden.

  “I still have no sight of her,” the Corporal replied. “It’s as though she isn’t even there.”

  He had motion detectors, and heat sensitive cameras everywhere, and he was greatly puzzled by how she could evade him. Ghost would have been a good description for her, because she was there a moment ago, yet now she was gone.

  Sky Two continued to scan the deck, as he traveled around its circumference, while fear began to creep into his mind, as well. Thomas, or Sky One, as he was referred to on this mission, was his closest friend, and he was down. He needed to find him, while still trying to find the target, and the task, as slowly as it was proceeding, was exhausting.

  “Found him,” he finally stated, still ever watchful of the target. “Is she anywhere near me?”

  “Negative,” came the reply. “I have nothing.”

  Carefully, he crept up to him. They were old friends, who had spent two tours in Afghanistan, on a spec ops unit, but now they used their skills for a price. Mercs they were called, though in reality, they were just brothers in arms, without the cold gaze of Uncle Sam looking over their shoulders. Now they used the training that they were given, to make a living, and who could argue with that?

  “He’s alive,” he said with great relief, before the floor opened up, and Sky Two began to fall to the Earth, from a height that could have been miles, which started his screaming.

  “Believe nothing,” Viper tried to tell him, yet he was hardly listening.

  “She’s right behind you!” Jenkins blurted out, but it was far too late.

  Suddenly, Sky Two had found the sleep that his friend was now in.

  “It seems that your girl is a little better than you thought,” the Colonel said with a smile. “Care to get me out of here now, since I am so important to you?”

  “I could have done this without any of you,” she said, as she pushed Anthony’s corpse aside, and sat down across from him. “I just wanted you to understand where you stood, once it is over.”

  Viper had calculated everything very well, just as they had taught her. She needed to think as many moves ahead as possible, and that is exactly what she was doing. She had gained control of the Mastro family, before Anthony ever knew it, and now she had her eyes set on the United States government. How fortunate she felt, having fallen into such a circumstance.

  “Security,” she spoke into her earpiece, “get here now.”

  The Colonel felt a little confident, considering what he had observed already.

  “She’s going to kill you.”

  Viper laughed, before standing again, and then walking back towards the kitchen.

  “That’s her weakness, Colonel,” she blurted out, without turning. “She doesn’t believe in killing,”

  The two men that used to be Anthony’s personal bodyguards, stood silent beside the Colonel. They were not exactly mercs, but both had the training as well. They just so happened to be a part of the family, for a very long time, but Viper’s persuasion was great. They had no idea that it was of the unnatural sort.

  “Do you guys have any idea what you are up against?” the colonel asked.

  Neither replied.

  * * *

  The two men on the elevator were simple thugs, but one was quite different than the other. His name was Michael, and he was an informant for the FBI, and though he had no time to tell them what was going to be happening here, he was certainly taking notes.

  “What the hell could Anthony need us for, in the Space Needle,” he asked, “especially at this time of night?”

  Jonny, who was someone on the lower rungs of the ladder, aspired to be more, and understood that asking questions was not the best way to get there.

  “Inviting us to dinner,” he sarcastically replied. “What else could it be?”

  As the elevator chimed, Jonny pulled his pistol, and placed it to Michael’s temple.

  “Now walk,” he demanded, as the informant instinctively raised his hands.

  “I haven’t done anything,” he said, which is the same thing that most guilty men would say, while still following the order. Someone who was blameless would have asked what it was about, first.

  “Just shut up, and move your feet.”

  He did so, and as he reached the table, where he saw Anthony hunched over, curiosity was no longer an emotion. Now, his emotion was nothing more than fear, for he could smell the death in the air, and he was the one that had a gun pointed at his head. Now, there was hopelessness.

  “Shut up, and wait.”

  Mark was the third security guard, and taking the steps took a little more time, but he finally reached the restaurant entrance. He was a little heavy, and slightly out of breath, but he had finally made it. Why would he even be assigned to such a task, he wondered.

  Stepping into the dining area, he had no idea what was going on, until he spotted his brother, with a gun to his head. He was always the fool, and Mark had done everything that he could to keep him out of trouble, not only when they were young, but in his adult life as well. Now he was beginning to believe that the entire night was about Michael’s own problems, and he was trying to find the words that might save him, this time, as he approached.

  “What the hell have you done now, brother?”

  “I didn’t do anything.” which was still the natural response of a guilty man.

  “He’s been talking to the FBI,” Viper replied, having sauntered back into the dining area, “and I want you to kill him.”

  At this, Mark didn’t know what to do. If it were true, he should do as he was told, but it was his brother. He raised his pistol, out of anger, but pulling the trigger was a much more difficult task. This was his kin. It was his brother, and he had protected him for so very long, yet Michael had committed the ultimate sin. Nonetheless, he could not do it.

  “Would you mind,” Viper asked in an almost playful nature, “if I did it myself?”

  Mark thought about it for a moment, but the only answer that he realized would keep one of them alive was simple, and so he nodded his head.

  At this, Viper launched a steel spike at his head, and he fell, lifeless, to the floor.

  “Now, get ready, because she is about to enter,” she stated as she turned to move back towards the kitchen, “and no one had better harm her, or I will kill you, myself.”

  She understood that none of them stood a chance at doing so, but she wasn’t one to not cover all possibilities, and as she reached the monitor
s that she had set up in the kitchen, she knew that her calculations were correct. Mirage was already approaching them, and they had no idea that she was even there, but Viper waited to see how she dealt with the scenario.

  There were four men dead, and five still living (not including the others, in different locations), and Viper wondered how her sister would respond. Mirage was the one that they had nurtured. Mirage was the one that was treated well, while she, herself, was being tortured.

  Certainly, Viper didn’t blame her, for they would have never let her know exactly what they were doing, and even with her pampered treatment, Mirage ran away. Obviously, they were more alike than either would even admit.

  The truth was, however, Mirage knew exactly what they were doing, and that is why she left. She didn’t have the heart to end it, because that would have meant taking Viper’s life, and that was something that they could never force upon her.

  Suddenly, all who were still alive, began to run to one side of the dining area, screaming as they did so. Viper could have easily figured out what they were seeing, so when one yelled out “fire”, it came as no surprise. The only thing that bothered her, was the fact that Mirage was close enough to sense her, yet was not attempting to mess with her mind, as well.

  Certainly, Viper had a meditation technique to deal with her mind control, though she was saving it for a better moment. A moment when all the cards were on the table.

  * * *

  Corporal Jenkins heard a knock at the van’s back door, and it was one that was quite familiar to him. It was Captain Brandon Jacobs, and he was extremely excited to hear it.

  “What the hell took you so long?’ Jenkins blurted out, as he opened the door.

  Captain Jacobs chose his words carefully.

  “You need to withdraw your team.”

  “But the Colonel is up there, with an escort,” he replied with a tone of questioning. “We have to support him.”

  “There is no one up there, Corporal,” the Captain told him sternly, “now pull your men back, and return to base, for debriefing.”

  “But I…”

  “You were tricked by a GEO, Corporal. Now do as you were told, unless you submitted those resignation papers yet.”