The next day, in a shopping center parking lot, two men met in the empty area furthest from the stores. One was 6'3" highly toned muscles, very pale and wearing sunglasses. The other was 6'7" and built like a house. If one glanced at him, they would instantly not want to get on this person's bad side. As they approached each other, their noses both wrinkled and twitched as though smelling something highly offensive. The broad-shouldered man's eyes glowed blue for a few moments. The other man's eyes glowed red under his sunglasses. Both men visibly shook as they tied to control themselves and finally regained it.
"Let's do this," one said. One followed the other to an opulent manor that sprawled as far as they could see, which was farther than the average human.
A button was pressed at the front gate, "state your business.'
"Mr. Silverwolf and friend here to meet Mrs. Techno."
"Pull up to the front please, Mr. Silverwolf."
"Thank you," rolling up the window, he did just that with the other vehicle parking right behind him. They got out of their vehicles at the same time, adjusted their designer suits and met as they approached the door.
Just as they were prepared to knock on the door, it swung open and they were greeted by a robot. Its voice was surprisingly welcome and warm, "Welcome Mr. Silverwolf and friend, follow me please."
Without even waiting for a response, the robot turned around and walked away. The walls were a soft eggshell color rather than a sanitary, hospital-white tone. The men knew the family they were visiting were scientists and didn't really know what to expect. Perhaps the inside of their home would be stainless steel! The surprise was a bit nice.
The robot brought the men to a seating area that was uncharacteristically homely and warm as well.
Cere Techno chuckled at the surprise on their faces, "while the rest of our home is more … scientific looking, we find having a meeting area that's more inviting allows business to go smoother. How may I help you gentlemen? You said on the phone you wanted to join me on something. May I ask if my son informed you without my permission?"
"Actually, we were contacted via other means. I'm sure you are aware of Chekof?" The man took a seat without prompting.
Cere nodded slightly, inviting him to continue.
"I'm not sure if you are aware, but his brother was taken by the company. We want him back and don't want to lose Chekof in the process of this rescue. We are also aware that Abel Genetics has been doing research combining DNA with humans. We want the hybrid program shut down and all relevant DNA and other research destroyed. We want to accompany the mission to ensure this happens."
Cere nodded and her lips tightened. "I was aware of their research but not how for along the program was. I assume you have more information?"
He nodded, "but not that I'm cleared to share. Can you help us locate and destroy the data?"
She nodded, "of course. The hard part is where they will take the kids is fully closed off with a firewall that even I can't get through. I'm working on a program that will change that. The delivery system is going to be easy. Ensuring the program is exact, well, we shall see."
Cere looked at the other man in the room who chose not to sit despite Mister Silverwolf sitting the minute he entered the room.
"Do you have the same goal?"
He shook his head, "you may call me Okin, Ma'am. My purpose is more… There is a girl who has been selected to be taken. An orphan. My family knew her mother. She helped us in the Walker War. The girl is the key to winning against them. At this time, she knows nothing about her past. We want to keep it that way until she's done with school, if that's possible. However, that company cannot get their hands on her. She isn't to know about us, but we've had someone watching her all year. That being said, we need to ensure that her rescue goes off without a hitch."
"Does… this girl have a … twin?"
Okin dropped his chin just a bit then raised it back up.
"I see. I knew she was special. What I was planning was to hire some Hunters to help me. Do you have enough strong forces between you that can help me storm the building and take control of it?"
Okin smirked while Mr. Silverwolf's face grew dark and menacing "as many as we need."
Cere smiled, "then I suggest we go over the map and discuss things. Follow me."
The two gentlemen looked at each other, smiled and followed her deeper into the house.
Back at the school…
"Blaine, what they hell am I meant to do with those?!?!" Lana exclaimed.
School had concluded for the day. Kattie, Almin, and Rene were cooking so Blaine decided to present Lana with a little gift, if you call a weapon longer than your arm little. Lana had fed crystals to Kent and evolved him that morning. She planned to work with him in the evening but…
"I see how you look at Duff's sai so I got you a pair. These are not beast weapons. These are, in fact, ancient weapons. Which means they have stood the test of time. With your use of Qi, they should be deadly in your hands but also fully controlled by you. Give them a try."
He extended the handles out to her and her hands trembled. If she were honest with herself, there was some excitement there as well. Back in school, she had been pretty good with beast weapons until they made her use a sword and had her …incident. Her favorite weapon was like a club that had a handle on the side. When she saw Duff using his sai, it made her remember her club. The more she saw him use it, the more she realized the weapon was better than her club. She yearned to give it a try.
Lana started twisting them around in her hands the way she saw Duff do it. She knew he had to use videos because the teacher didn't know how to use them. Soon, she had them going so fast, she couldn't see the ends. She was in a zone when suddenly, there was a clang and resistance.
Before her was a sexy, mischievous face with a grin she wished she could kiss. That would need to wait. First, she needed to kick his ass.
As Lana started testing herself, slowly using her weapons, Blaine met her calmly, matching her pace. To him, this was about facing her fears which would make her stronger, ultimately. He locked his eyes with hers as steel met steel. The clangs reverberated throughout the air, and they could feel the impact in their hands and arms. Slowly their speed picked up as her comfort grew.
"Dobin, I don't understand what we're seeing here," Jessy said.
"Yeah, how is she able to use sai so well?" Duff chimed in.
"That's a good question," Dobin responded.
"Isn't she afraid of beast weapons? How does she know how to use them?"
Dobin nodded, "she wasn't always afraid. I wasn't in her class, so I never saw what happened there. What I did see is they had these ancient weapons that were used by law enforcement in the old world, about 200 years ago. It was an outdated weapon, but it was a stick with a bar-type handle on one side. I never bothered to ask what it was called. She simply called it a club. It was made of wood and she mastered using it. She had one in each hand and couldn't be beaten with them."
Dobin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "One day in class, the teacher made her switch to a new weapon, a sword. Her first experience with a beast weapon. I never got the full scoop on what happened. She told me and I quote there was so much blood end quote and cried. That was all I got. The rumors around school were anywhere between she cut the student she faced very slightly to she almost chopped off his leg. Either way, she refused to touch weapons after that. If she didn't make it, she refused."
"She seems okay with being around weapons now," Jessy said.
Dobin nodded, "Sergeant Tanaka referred her for help plus kept her in class. He's the Beast Weapons teacher. Blaine goes to class with her and spars with her, has from the beginning when they first met. Between those who are helping her, she's slowly getting stronger and overcoming what happened in the past."
Marie listened to the story while she watched Blaine and Lana, "she looks amazing," her voice wistful, dreaming that one day she could look like that in combat.
The smell of dinner wafted into their noses, but the group continued to watch the couple. Suddenly, Blaine locked his swords in Lana's sai and shoved her against the tree.
"Does the lady yield?"
She bit her bottom lip, eyes never leaving his, "the lady yields," she gasped.
She couldn't believe how fun that was nor how exhausting it was sparring with someone so strong for so long. In class, he always held back. She was sure he was here as well, but he put more into it. She was proud of him for that. Plus, her hands were going numb from the prolonged impact of their weapons so a break sounded great.
The friends watched as the couple vanished from their sight. Only then did they notice Kattie and Rene were plating food and they quickly took their seats.
After everyone had their plates, Paul's was put aside. Kattie called up, "dinner is done!"
As she took her seat next to Almin, she noticed two plates rose from the table and floated toward the room in the tree and chuckled. "I guess they wanted dinner for two tonight."