Ch 15: Mission Briefing

I close the door to Sylwia's house behind me and am immediately battered by wind and rain. I take off running back to the church and when I arrive, I am good and soaked. Again.

Two sisters open the doors upon my approach. They bow as I enter.

"We welcome you back, Appointed One." They say as one. It is Sister Alexa and Raina again.

"Ulyssa called me on urgent business. Please take me to her."

"We are already on orders to bring to her immediately." Alexa says. "Right this way!"

They lead back to the passage that leads down to the control room. I take the passage by myself and knock on the door. It opens on its own accord. This time, Ulyssa is there by herself. She is looking at a screen, the profile of Oleksandr on display. Next to him is the map of the country of Turkey. Specifically, the city of Istanbul is marked in red.

I can already discern what this conversation is going to be. Ulyssa doesn't turn around, even though my echoing footsteps tell her I am right behind her.

"You know, it's extremely rude to accept the invite of one woman and then end up at another woman's house." She says.

So, this is why she sounded annoyed earlier. "You had me followed?" I say. When she turns around, her smile tells me I fell directly into her trap.

"So, I'm right. You were at another woman's place. Let me guess. Sylwia." She says, studying my face.

"Yes."I say, finding no reason to lie. "We went on a date. It turned out that she was in trouble. A man named Dariusz came by to take her back to her old life."

Ulyssa slams her fist on the table. "D**n him! Are they okay?"

"I took care of things. They are no worse for wear." I say, coming to Ulyssa's side. "We need to worry more about this than Sylwia right now. She is safe for the time being."

Ulyssa looks dubious. "Are you sure Dariusz won't try again?"

"I don't know for certain, of course." I say. "Though I imagine he has a strong sense of self preservation. He knows his fate, if he ever returns."

Ulyssa breathes a sigh of relief. "Well, I guess that will have to do for now. Unfortunately, I can't spare sisters for individual protection detail. We are spread thin with other matters. At the very least, she will be safe at the inn when she's on shift."

I don't ask about these 'other' matters. They will just serve to distract me. I decide to trust that the sect is handling its affairs well enough on their own.

"Just to make sure, though." She says. "You didn't kill anyone?"

"It would have been imprudent of me to play executioner, so no."

Ulyssa nods. "I'm glad you still have restraint. Others would have wiped them off the face of the earth in an instant."

"It was certainly tempting." I say. "Now, what about this meeting with Oleksandr?"

Ulyssa indicates to the screen. "As you can see here. Sasha is going to be in Istanbul. He's arriving a day earlier than I thought, which is tomorrow. You'll be inserted on the following day I thought this was going to take a few days at least. Something big must be going on."

"Okay." I say.

"He's there for a sort of market convention. It's a big gathering of scumbags who want to do mass trades and compete for new business." She says. "You are going to be one of the products."

"Products?" I say, puzzled. "You want me to be sold?"

"Contracted." Ulyssa says. "Remember, you want to become part of Bakari's mercenary unit. You need to go ready to make an impression."

"So I need a resume." I say.

Ulyssa changes the screen to a series of documents. My face is now on display as well. I still have the same basic features, but my picture has been photo shopped with scars and tattoos. I'm not really a fan, but it does make me look intimidating and scary. So I guess I'll fit right in.

"Here are the details. You will take these documents with you and you will present them to buyers. Study them carefully and get your story straight." Ulyssa puts a hand on my shoulder. We look at each other. "Can you memorize this in the next few hours?"

I nod. "No problem." I say, lying. I will study the material and soak in as much as I can, but Grace is going to have to pick up the slack.

"Good." Ulyssa says. "Now, we only have a couple hours. We need to transform you into," She points at my new identity's name. "Cain Wolfe. Codename, Ghostfang. You are a silent, brutal assassin. You've done hit jobs in countries all around the world and have never been caught. People only know you by reputation. Every murder we have linked you to is legitimate."

"Ghostfang?" I say, turning to Ulyssa. "Wait, if I am supposed to be someone with a real track record, then won't someone know the real Ghostfang? What if he shows up to this shindig?"

Ulyssa gives me a dark smile. "The part about him never being caught is a lie. He was caught. In fact, he's dead. I saw to it personally."

I don't ask for the details. "Okay, that's a good cover, then."

"Yes." She says. "Since he's been dead. People will have questions. Your story is going to be that you've been off the grid after a job went sideways. Your old crew betrayed you and you are looking for a new crew to join up with. You're prolific, a legend in the world of murder for hire. Plenty of units will want you for themselves. You're going to play hard to get, eventually settling in with Bakari."

"So, the trick is to make sure Bakari wants me at any cost." I say.

Ulyssa nods. "That's right. So, do you think you can handle that?"

I scoff. "Come on, we are wasting time. We need to get my transformation done. I'm assuming you don't want me using my system unless absolutely necessary?"

"Yup, which is why we are going to transform in the old way." She says, giving me an apologetic smile.

I look at her for a moment. Then I blink and I understand what she means.

"Oh, s**t."

"Language!" Grace and Ulyssa both say at once.

Ulyssa uses the console to contact another sister. Vice Sister Victoria comes up on the call display.

She's another amazingly enchanting woman. With dark brown curls framing her mousy face. She has an upturned button nose and appears in her profile picture to be as lovely as a rose. Yet like all the sisters here, looks are deceiving. She must have plenty of thorns for every pretty flower petal.

"Master." She says, an American southern drawl spilling from her lips.

"Victoria, is the operating room ready?" Ulyssa says.

Operating room?! I try not to show my panic.

"Why yes it is, master. It's right purdy and ready for the victim. Oh my, that slipped out. I mean the patient." Victoria says, her tone as sweet as honey, like she was displaying that famous southern hospitality. This sister is scary too!

Even Ulyssa slaps her forehead. "Victoria, we talked about this."

"My apologies master, silly ol' me forgot to watch my darn mouth again. Don't mind me, Appointed One, I don't mean nothing by it." She says.

Right. I can't say I'm convinced. "It's okay." I say. "I already know that this isn't going to be pleasant. I'm ready to get this over with."

"Well aren't you brave, suga'?" Victoria says. "I like me a tall, courageous glass of tea such as yourself. Fancy taking this here pretty little flower on a little date? I like moonlit walks, dips in the river and snuggling under the shade of a big tree. All I ask is that you be a gentleman and we'll get on fine."

Ulyssa steps in front of me before I have time to answer. "Victoria, now you go too far! He's not here for dates and pleasure. We have to find our missing sister! I am more than enough to take care of his manly needs, now stand down!" she says.

I feel like too many words were said just then. Victoria, however, doesn't miss a beat.

"A competition for The Appointed One it shall be then, master." She says. "I'm ready to begin the procedure." Then she addresses me. "And as for you, handsome, I'm ready at anytime, anywhere." Her voice becomes sultry. "And if you behave right, I might be up for anything you want."

The line goes dead. Ulyssa looks like she is about to rip someone's head off. I have an idea who that might be.

"All these pupils of mine need to learn their place!" Ulyssa says, storming to the door. I follow her. "Sylwia I can forgive. She doesn't know any better, after all. Humph! They are too bold!"

I keep my opinion to myself, though I am glad someone agrees. Yet the person that also agrees is also too bold! How bothersome. I decide I need to change the subject before Ulyssa gets even more heated.

"I can guess, but I wanted to be sure as to why you are hiding the truth of your sect from Sylwia." I say.

"Sylwia, along with all the girls at the inn are the same. They have traces of the Blood of Eden, but they are broken or liabilities as far being my soldiers." She says as we get out into the hallway. We retrace our steps and then turn down another passage instead of going back up to the ground floor.

"All those women?" I say.

She nods. "Yes. They are strays and lost souls who needed to be saved. If I come across women with our blood who need help, I help them. It's that simple."

"I see. May I ask why only women? Where do the men get help?" I say.

Ulyssa glances at me. I can see a great hurt there. I wonder if she will close off, but in the end, she speaks.

"I'm not quite ready to talk about it with you." She says. "The reason I left my family…" she lets the sentence trail off.

"You don't have to say anything. I'm willing to listen when you are ready, Ulyssa." I say.

She gives me a grateful look. "Thank you, Leon." She says. "One day you will know my story and why I only trust one man in the entire world. So much so that he became my idol."

I know she is talking about me. "I must admit, I am curious." I say.

She smiles at me, then stops at another door. "We're here." She says.

I suck in a breath as Ulyssa gains access and the door opens. Sister Victoria is inside. If I wasn't so nervous about the operation, my mouth would have plummeted straight to the floor.

Victoria's habit, while the sect already wears a more tight and body forming clothing, is outrageous.

In fact, it's more of a Chinese style dress where the fabric is opened on the sides, showing her legs which are clad in dark nylon stockings.

Unlike traditional fashion, the dress scoops low over her chest, exposing the mounds of her milk white breasts. She is also wearing leather high heel boots. Is Victoria a BDSM mistress on her free time?!

My answer comes as she raises her arms, holding something that gleams under the operating lights. It's a giant bone saw. She presses the trigger, revving the engine. The blade sings as it spins so fast that the blades are a blur.

Ulyssa grabs me when I stay stunned for too long. "Come on." She says, impatient. "She's not actually that bad."

I look at her as if she just said something completely crazy. Mostly because it is clear to me that Victoria is clinically insane!

"Let's trade places and then let's see if you change your tune." I say. "Are you sure this is the best person for this job?"

"Despite the problems with her personality, she is actually quite reliable as a medical expert. She's done a few surgeries." Ulyssa says.

"A few surgeries?" I say, now starting to drag my feet. Ulyssa pulls me harder, forcing me along. "How does that make you an expert?"

"Just get on the table!" she says, shoving the last few feet.

I hit the side of the operating table, the metal gleaming up at me with an now decidedly ominous glint. Victoria continues to wave the electric bone saw over her head. A certain horror movie spoof comes into my head.

Ulyssa goes around the table and goes to the wall plug. She unplugs the machine.

Victoria looks at it, confused. "Aw, what's wrong with this diggity darn thing? Come on now." She shakes it and smacks it a few times. "They certainly don't make things like they used to!"

"Indeed!" Ulyssa says, clapping the maniacal sister over the back of the head.

"Ow!"

Ulyssa lets her hand fly, smacking the sister over and over, each blow matched with a berating exclamation. "Stop. Being. A. Complete. Weirdo!"

Victoria's rosy cheeks are now cherry red and welting. "Yes, master." She says, finally subdued.

"Now, let's get this done." Ulyssa says.

Victoria perks right back up. "Yes!" she turns to me. "Now, my darling, get naked and get on my table!"

I hesitate for a moment. Then a warning glare from Ulyssa prompts me to start moving.

"Fine. Just be gentle with me." I say, climbing onto the cool metal.

A giant knife with a wicked blade appears in front of my face. This is paired with Victoria who is giving the most terrifying crazy eyes I have ever encountered. At her next words, I am thoroughly convinced that she is an escaped insane asylum patient.

"Gentle? Honey, I may be the sweetest lass that you'll ever meet from the bayou, but gentle? I don't the meaning of the word."