Chapter 1170 - Dissolving Eric's Squad (1)

~ Los Angeles, compound belonging to the army of Chaos ~

4:32 PM

Two helicopters silently landed in the spacious courtyard of the compound which is used by Eric's squad.

From the outside, the compound is hidden by a tall wall and lush foliage. Without getting inside, no one would guess that there is a number of buildings with living quarters above and below the ground, and a training ground which goes two level underground, below the courtyard.

All these structures below the ground are the reason why no one ever discovered the locations of the army of Chaos. Looking from above, it gives a feel of a storage or an industrial facility. But each of the compounds used by the army of Chaos have most of their facilities underground.

Two seconds after the two helicopters landed, the ground below them moved and helicopters were lowered underground with a new layer sliding on top, making it seem like the ground was not open a minute ago (and the helicopters didn't land there).

Five unmarked black vans drove into the compound and went into one building which is an entry to an underground parking. The vans lined up and stopped behind the two helicopters.

The doors of both helicopters opened and generals of the army of Chaos exited. At the same time, army members got out of the vans.

Eric stood with other members of his squad, waiting to welcome newcomers.

Zack was next to Eric, supporting himself with crutches.

They all watched Sarah stand in front of them, in her black uniform and a black mask on her face. She looks sharp and dangerous, even her hair is pulled tightly in the back without a single strand out of place. This is the first time she came in her uniform of Chaos and with a mask on. It's an official business.

Behind Sarah, ten masked generals wearing matching uniforms lined up: Haru, Nala, Ron, Zula, Masika, Imani, Jamari, Ade, Allen and Julius. It is a full setup, other than Jesse and Oni who are still with Penny and Ben.

Ade was surprised when Sarah told him to get ready, considering that he is still serving his punishment, but he will not complain. He hoped that Sarah decided to allow him to resume his duties as a general, but she will tell him that later.

Allen and Julius are excited. This is their first time to appear as generals and they are doing their best not to grin. As generals, they need to be cool about it and their biggest problem right now is not to show how giddy they are.

Behind each of the generals, five members of the army of Chaos stood.

Aiden is not present. He is taking care of few jobs for Jeff from their computer room at the Cliffside Villa. Marcus started his online attacks on Jeff and Aiden needs to deal with it quickly before it causes some real damage. Aiden occasionally glances at one screen which is showing him a live feed of what is happening at the compound. He smiled at the sight of his future wife standing with her generals and fifty members of her army. She is impressive.

Back at the compound…

Eric and his men watched in awe while everyone lined up perfectly, without making a sound.

Sarah stepped forward and addressed Eric's squad: "All of you wanted to join the army of Chaos. When I told you that you are not there yet, you disapproved. The mission you went on yesterday was to give you a chance to prove that you are ready. I said more than once how in the army of Chaos we have few rules, but those few need to be obeyed. Do you know why we are here now?"

Sarah looked at Eric's squad observing each of their faces carefully while her eyes shimmered in red hues. She watched the videos of Eric's squad on a mission and their talks after it, and she is bubbling with fury.

The report Eric submitted shows how things ended well with a short mentioning of them putting girls outside of the zone which drones monitored for enemies. The report was full of praises for Masika and Imani but from the chats of the members of Eric's squad, she can see that they are full of themselves, typical macho behavior which put her girls in danger. And what angered her the most is that after the mission, they blamed their failure to position themselves properly on Masika and Imani. Shameless.

Eric can see that Sarah is angry. He swallowed hard and stepped forward. "My poor decision making put Masika in danger. I am not qualified to be the leader."

Zack moved next to Eric. "I misjudged them and suggested that they should be placed as far as possible. I thought how that will keep them out of the harm's way without considering that I'm doing the opposite."

"If Masika was not in that position, you would be ambushed.", Sarah said coldly. "Do you know how many of you would be killed if Masika and Imani didn't take care of that group?"

Sarah saw that all men in front of her lowered their gazes. It's obvious that they didn't think about it.

"We are called the army of Chaos. The ARMY. Do you know why?", Sarah didn't wait for anyone to answer before continuing: "Because we follow orders. I told you not to underestimate them, yet you placed them far away, ignoring my words. Your poor judgement put all of you in danger. And your reaction after the mission is disappointing."

Sarah saw that few men looked at her with confusion apparent on their faces. Sarah sneered: "Did you really think that we don't know what is going on here? I heard you put the blame on my two generals while saying how it would be better if they were not there and in the next breath you brushed it all off because the mission was a success. It was a success, but not thanks to you. You are not worthy to be in the army of Chaos."

"No!", Eric exclaimed and shrunk when he saw that Sarah narrowed her eyes at him. "It's my fault. Punish me. They followed my orders."

"You are all one unit. Everyone gets rewarded and punished together. No exceptions.", Sarah said coldly.

"Don't cut us off. Give us a chance.", Eric pleaded.

"A chance?", Sarah glanced at the back. "If you can spar with any army member for three minutes without falling on your knees, I will consider allowing you to stay. Or if you want to try your skills against a general, the time limit goes down to one minute."

"What if we win?", someone asked.

Sarah stifled a laugh. "You can join the army straight away."

Some members of Eric's squad were visibly excited, but few had troubled expressions. Those few saw Masika fight during their mission and they are pretty sure that they can't win.  

"The four men who were injured yesterday have an option to compete in marksmanship.", Sarah added when she saw Zack looking at his injured leg dejectedly.

"Is there no other way?", Eric asked unable to hide that he is disheartened. He fought against Sarah and he knows his men. If the members of the army of Chaos are only ten percent capable of what Sarah can do, they can't win.

Sarah thought for a second before responding: "Yes. There is one more option. You can leave."

The men exchanged confused glances. They all came to join the army of Chaos, convinced that their skills are top-notch and accepted that their past is wiped out. If they leave, they have no history and that is good because their previous crimes are erased. None of them had a squeaky clean record. However, that also means that their good deeds as well as any employment history is gone. Who will hire a bodyguard with a shady (non-existent) past?

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