Chapter 134

Chapter 134

Sonya stood on top of the small platform overlooking the blasted and ruined field. It was about a hundred meters in length going down the side of the mountain that the camp had been built on. The treeline framed it on three sides, making it seem like an open bowl. She reached up and adjusted her sunglasses as a small group made their way up towards the top. Faint flashes of purple light indicated Greg's movements. A pair of bangs followed and Val burst through a wall, Alex immediately behind him with three combat dolls on his back. They'd been modified, of course, to track any ‘injuries’ or ‘stresses’ from the rescue.

“They're doing better,” She said absently.

Next to her, Axel crossed his arms and frowned a little, “Marginally,” He said, “But it’s a stark improvement from the first time. They’’ll pass on this round, mostly thanks to their support,” He pointed out, “Greg and Jessica make a good team.”

As soon as he said it, a trio of light blue darts hurtled out of the opening that had been made by Val, digging into the three dolls that had risen up out of the soil to confront them. Val moved quickly to dispatch while Jessica soared overhead, she landed and shifted forward a bit, almost stumbling on her landing but turned it quickly into a run as she made headway for the others. Sonya tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, An injury? Nothing obvious. She thought as she pulled up the girls dossier.

Most of the details weren’t exactly impressive. Girl from southern mississippi, bit of an outcast at school, most of her background checked out. Frankly, she’d overlooked it a little, only giving a brief once over once she heard that the girl was interested in Greg. While Jessica was impressive in some ways, Greg was the real star. His mind was excellent for logistics and his abilities had room to grow. She’d even put him on a very short list of investment candidates if the opportunity arose to do so. She very much wanted to send him to the United Kingdom to get direct instruction under Euclidia.

Now that she looked harder, though, the background was more than just a little bland. It was vanilla. It was like the backstory of every single bog-standard young-adult romance protagonist. Moderately happy home with standoffish father, good grades, popular physically but with a social rapport that set her on the outskirts. Humble, low-key, a few scattered achievements in her background from school. Swim team captain? Sonya narrowed her eyes and glanced at the girls movements. She moved like someone who’d done rotc like herself, drills training, and not for a couple of weeks either.

Sonya’s lips thinned a little as the group crossed the finish line.

“You guys finally made it to the end, no red signals from the dolls. You pass!” Axel barked down at them. The four threw their fists up in the air and cheered.

Sonya leaned against the railing and forced a smile, “Congratulations!” She called before glancing towards Jessica, “Miss Wayne, have you decided on who you’re going to be signing with yet?” She asked.

Jessica glanced up from where she was clasping hands with the others, smiling, “No ma’am! Still feeling it out! Want me to come for an interview?”

Sonya raised an eyebrow, “Sure! I’ll reach out,” She said. I can use it as an opportunity to interrogate her, after my visit with the Spice King of course. She thought idly before glancing towards Axel, “She seems to have an injury,” Sonya said under her breath, “Make sure she gets to the clinic,” He nodded at her and she brightened beaming at them all, “I’m proud of you guys, keep it up! And don’t forget to support your teammates that joined the scouting team when they get back. They’ve got it rough!”

They all nodded as she waved and turned, hands crossed behind her back as she made a quick call, <”Marta?”>

Martas voice came through a moment later, <”Yes ma’am?”>

<”I noticed something off about Jessica Wayne’s background. It’s very generic. I suspect it might be falsified. She also hasn’t even attempted to sign with anyone yet.”> She clicked her tongue, <”She’s suspicious and from Mississippi, it could just be conjecture but I want you to keep an eye on her, have Amos give her background a hard look later.”> She said quickly. <”I’ll be away for the next few days so you’ll have to do all this as me. I-”>

She was about to elaborate when Marta cut her off, <”Sonya, I’ve got it handled. Anything comes up, I'll let you know. You’re only a portal away, after all.”>

Sonya let out a breath and smirked to herself, she knew she was probably worrying for nothing but her gut told her to be cautious regardless. She huffed out a breath, <”Fine fine, do you want me to bring you back any souvenirs?”> She asked, changing the subject, <”I’m sure the spice king will be happy to oblige me! He’s always been very generous.”>

There was a pause, <”Oh! Oh! Get me a dessert platter, just a sampler of sweets if you can. I want to try everything! Something for Barry, too. He likes dark coffee. I’m sure Amos already put an order in?”> She said and Sonya let out a small laugh, <”Figures he did, always a step ahead. Is that okay?”>

<”You’re being so cheap!”> Sonya laughed, <”I’ll get a few outfits for you too, that’s what you really want, toodles!”> She said and cut the call before Marta could protest.

He nodded, “Yeah, he’s got a full scheme prepared for you now and wants to talk as soon as you’re ready,” He said, flipping his hair, “We’ve written up a base contract but I’m happy to make adjustments if you like.”

She raised an eyebrow, “It must be big to demand my personal involvement. Do you know why he needs me personally to intervene?” She asked.

“Broker,” He said flatly. “He doesn’t know the name, of course, but he needs your more direct deal making ability. He seems to be under the impression that my paper contracts don’t carry as much weight as the person themselves being involved.”

She chuckled, “He’s wrong,” She said before closing her eyes and taking a deep, deep breath. She exhaled through her nostrils and centered herself. She pulled up her hud and her aptly named ‘things’ folder. She smirked to herself at the ‘.thing’ files, Amos hated that she’d started using that for the items she digitized. She pulled her helmet out as she put her normal outfit in. Her head glowed blue for a moment before she stood before Mephisto, her armor forming on her body. She felt her arms go slack as the sensation of being in the helmet overcame her. Her mind relaxed, her soul eased, and everything felt... right.

She tilted her head down and met his gaze, “But I suppose I can extract payment for my direct intervention anyway, Lead the way,” Ishtar said, the voice modulator kicking in.

He gave a prompt bow, “Yes, mistress.”

A few moments later they stepped out of the elevator and into the grandiose hall of the Spice King. The columns in a line and twenty one young men standing between them. They all had stoic expressions on their faces, doing everything they could to keep their temper. At the end another pair stood at either side of the throne. Both of them looked wary. They eyed Ishtar with caution as she strode down the hall, her head tilted up to look at the youthful man relaxing on his throne. She threw her arms out in greeting, “Erebus!” She tittered out, “Youth suits you!”

The big man got to his feet and marched down the stairs, “Ishtar!” He bellowed and broke into laughter, “Regal as always!”

They embraced briefly before she stepped back and spun around to look over his sons, “You’re one short! Last I heard it was twenty-four!” She said thoughtfully, tapping the side of her helmet. The young men all went very still under her attention and she huffed out a cruel laugh, floating into the air and drifting past them, checking one face at a time, “Was someone naughty?” She teased, “Was it you?” She asked, “Or was it you?” She stopped at the youngest of them. Mephisto had informed her that the youngest son had talent and a strong ability.

The young man stiffened but didn’t speak, keeping his eyes forward.

She turned in the air and drifted towards the Spice King, lounging on her back, “Tight lipped! Good sons,” She said with an approving nod.

He gave her a curious look, “Your powers continue to grow.”

“I like to spoil myself every now and then,” She said as she pretended to check her fingernails. She turned her head to look into his eyes, “You should see the scary ones I picked up,” She quipped.

He raised an eyebrow, “I’m looking forward to seeing them in action very soon.”

“Yes, about that,” Ishtar rasped and tilted her body, landing on her feet. The next moment a pressure washed over the room, a few of the young men simply staggered while one just fell face first to the ground, “You called me all the way out here and I would like a better explanation as to why. I’m a busy woman, Erebus, and I prefer clarity. The only reason I bothered was because I like you. So give me the details.”

He stood strong, unlike his sons, and he made a point to notice which ones faltered most under her oppressive aura. He grinned wildly at her, “I’d expect nothing less,” He said with a low growl, “I have taken pains to make sure the quarry is already here in the area. We just need to lure her into a trap and take what I need. That’s where I need you.”

She tilted her head, “Who?” She demanded.

“Queen August,” He said with distaste, “She squanders her power,” He clenched his fist in front of his face and met her eyes, “I want to employ the Queen of Villains to strip August of her powers and give them to me. I’ll put them to much better use.”