332: A Plague of Phantoms: King of the Land of Lies II

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant Kingston! Wait up!" Private Oliver exclaimed.

I gritted my teeth then looked over my shoulder at the rest of my squad. The three of them were more than seven yards behind me. We were currently hiking through a forest that stretched behind the back of the hotel Americans were staying in. We'd only been hiking for twenty minutes and thanks to my idiots being too hungover they were stumbling all over the place and walking way too slow.

"No, keep moving! If you dumbasses hadn't drank yourselves stupid we would be much further along!" I snapped without stopping.

"We were just…" Alex started but I quickly spun on my heel and cut him off.

"WE ARE SOLDIERS! STILL ON DUTY! REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS WE STAY ON POINT OR ELSE OTHERS WILL DIE!" I barked. Alex, Tyme, and Oliver all jumped at my voice and nearly stumbled with how drunk they still were.

"Where was this anger when Reagan was killed…" Oliver grumbled. My eyes shot to Oliver and I glared at him with a look I hadn't used since Chase was in middle school. Oliver recoiled from the look and cowered the same way Chase used to.

"A lot of use that did you, didn't it Private? How does your arm feel after it was chopped off?" I asked, my voice hardened and dropped to a icy degree. I slowly approached the rest of my squad, not taking my eyes off Oliver. "For all that anger and rage it didn't do you a lot of good. Did it Private Oliver?"

"L-l-lieutenant?" Oliver stuttered. I reached down at the combat knife strapped to my thigh and pulled it from its sheath and twirled the blade between my fingers.

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION PRIVATE?" I barked. Private Oliver and the others all jumped and Oliver took a step back reflexively.

"No sir! It didn't!" Oliver exclaimed.

I was now within arms reach and took full advantage. I grabbed Oliver by the collar and pushed him against the nearest tree then pressed the edge of the blade against his neck.

"All it did was cement in every soldiers heart that Chase and every splicer is superior to us! Just like you getting drunk cemented that the president is being guarded by fools!" I snapped then stabbed the knife into the trunk of the tree. I reared back and slapped Oliver across the face. "As it stands Chase has the backing of one of the largest countries in the world! Every country is bending over backwards to kiss his ass because they want his evos! We are a very small military force compared to the forces of EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! We are far from home with no chance of backup, no way to get home without relying on another country, and seriously fucking outgunned by Chase and HIS MYSTICAL MAGICAL BULLSHIT! So tell me Private, what good would getting angry and losing focus of our job be? What good would trying to get revenge be if it resulted in the total decimation of our military?!"

Private Olive looked stunned. Fear, shame, and powerlessness flashed in his eyes. He looked like his booze addled brain was desperately trying to find an answer but was coming up with nothing. Finally he lowered his head to the ground and shook it.

"None…none at all…" He admitted.

"Exactly! You getting drunk, Cross flapping his gums, even me attempting to fight Chase would do no good. Chase is too well connected for any current strategies we have against splicers to work. We cannot deal with him alone! And you three drunk fuckers can only put the mission we were given; which might be the best chance to get rid of him; at risk."

Oliver's head drooped even lower as realization started to break through the alcohol haze. I glanced over my shoulder at Tyme and Alex, they two were just as startled by my words. I huffed then shook my head and pulled my knife out of the tree trunk. I let go of Oliver then turned on my heel and started walking towards the rendezvous point again.

"You three wait here an sober up. Should we have to fight, you're all a liability and would only get us all killed. Better I just deal with these VIP's myself and have you catch up later." I said.

"Sir…" Alex started but I cut him off.

"I AM NOT LOSING ANOTHER SOLDIER!" I growled startling everyone. "Reagan was enough! I am not going to willingly lead all of you into a situation when none of you are capable of defending yourself."

Alex looked down at the ground then leaned against the tree and slid to the ground. Tyme started to walk over to Alex and then stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face. He managed to save himself at the last second, however this proved my point completely.

"The rendezvous point is in the basement of a sword shop in the next town oover. Passcode: Azashwalt. If you can sober up enough to make it there then great. If not, head back to the hotel. I don't care how it looks." I said.

***

'This is a very sketchy place…' I thought as I stepped into the abandoned mountain warehouse. It was small for a warehouse and slowly rotting into disrepair. Vines and other plants broke through the concrete of the floor and crept along the walls. The mid-afternoon sun shined through several holes in the roof.

I took several steps inside the warehouse and felt more and more uneasy with each step. Suddenly bright golden lights shined above me followed by seven golden swords slamming into the ground in a circle around me. Chains made of light shot from the swords and wrapped around me, binding me to the spot.

"What the hell?!" I exclaimed as I struggled against the chains.

"It is futile to resist. That binding spell has been passed down the Folders family for generations." A voice called out. I craned my neck to look towards the source of the voice and saw a group of splicers dressed in a black cloaks with ornate masks. There were five of them in total though the one in a flamingo domino mask that only covered his eyes and most of his upper facial features had one of those magical circles floating and pulsating in front of his outstretched hand.

"They sent one man…and Chase Kingston's brother no less. I knew it would be a trap!" The second splicer exclaimed. This one's voice was clearly a woman's and her face was covered by a bear domino mask.

"HALF-BROTHER!" I growled. This startled all the splicers and for some reason I could feel then narrowing their eyes at me. "Just because that…freak and I share a father doesn't mean I care for the fucker!"

The splicers all were stunned to silence for several seconds, exchanging glances between the five of them before the third splicer; wearing a monkey domino mask; stepped forward.

"What riches lie in hell-born wombs?" He asked. I recognized the phrase from the mission details, it was the code phrase for the VIP's I was supposed to escort.

"Oculus, razor of the end." I replied. The splicers were silent again, longer this time before the first of them spoke.

"Seems that foolish girl was right about yours and Chase's…strained relationship." The splicer said then snapped his fingers. The chains of light that bound me shattered the next instant with the swords that surrounded me shattering a instant later. "So you are our escort? I was promised the best team your country could produce."

"They are combing the nearby area." I lied and rolled my shoulders casually. I couldn't afford for the splicers to realize the truth about what my team was doing. "That giant flying death bug of Chase's has been making rounds around the entire island. I'm hoping it will see them as something curious and patrol near them."

"Hmph! Using your men as bait…I underestimated the ruthlessness of Americans." The fourth splicer said with a oddly approving chuckle. This splicer wore a wolf domino mask.

"A distraction…not bait." I clarified, though the splicer only chuckled at that.

"Whatever you say." The forth splicer said. I took a breath then motioned towards the hole in the wall that I had climbed through.

"Follow me, we have a lot of ground to cover." I said.

"Yes, let's hurry! Too long and my absence will be noticed…" The fifth splicer donning a spider domino mask, said impatiently. There was something about the man's tone that pissed me off. It was the same high-handed

'Gods please let this be over quickly.' I thought.

***

'Finally here!' I thought, feeling waves of relief wash over me.

I stood in front of the sword shop that was mentioned in my mission details with the five splicers standing closely behind me. The shop was rather unremarkable. A old building in what I guessed was traditional Japanese architecture. There front door of the shop was wide open and inside there was a man sitting at a table on the far wall.

"Hmmm…this place is…quaint." The second splicer said, her tone indicating she was being polite in her choice of words.

I stepped inside the shop and glanced around. It wasn't any more impressive inside. Japanese swords were laid out on small wooden pedestals, most looked like they were poorly made and crappy looking.

The man behind the table spared our group a single half-lucid glance then pulled a lever behind him. One of the mats on the floor slid to the side, revealing a staircase to a hidden basement.

'Shouldn't he have asked for the code word?' I thought suspiciously.

Regardless of my suspicions I walked down the staircase with the splicers following behind me. The stairs lead down to a torchlight hallway, at the end of the hallway was a medium sized room with little else but a single table sitting on the middle of the room. I was surprised to see Alex, Tyme, and Oliver standing beside General Custard.

"So are you the one we were meant to meet?" One of the splicers asked. General Custard didn't answer right away, instead he eyed each splicer with a look that showed he was obviously waiting for something. The fourth splicer was the only one to figure out what he was waiting for.

"Azashwalt." He said. General Custard nodded on hearing the code word then cleared his throat.

"Yes, I am the one you all were sent to meet. I'm going to do away with any illusion of decorum right now and say let's get down to the meat and potatoes of why you all are here: The death and destruction of Chase Kingston and Sho'lajah Artifact Company."