Sinners and Saints (14 page)

Well damn!

“
This was a fake mission?” Vylette yelled.

The other three removed their masks as well. Travine, Vallmore, Hardass and Dorrian stood wearing huge smiles.

“Yes, and you have all passed with flying colors. Go ahead ask me how many of our family here you saved.”

“
How many?”

“
All that were left alive. None of the people you thought were dead are, they are all in on it and don't worry all the ammo was changed out with blanks plus the opposition was wearing bullet proof gear. So no one got hurt.”

She shook her head, smiled and lowered her weapon.

“I thought our mission was the one we did today.”

“
No, we needed to see how you’d reacted when you thought it was real and I have to say, You guys worked just as well under pressure as you did in mock trials,” Hardass said.

Vallmore stepped forward,
a huge smile on her face. “I could not be more proud of you. You have all passed this mission, please feel free to join your friends in the dining hall for a celebration.”

Vylette was still a bit confused.

“What of the rest of our classes, how did they fair? We haven't run into anyone else from our class let alone any other recruits.”

“
Well you see, we watch all of you in every class you have and eventually recruits will form their own groups they work well with without realizing it. We take notes and names. This week has been mission week. We separated all of you into these groups and sent you all to different locations for your 'mission' when the real test was here. Example, while you guys were gone earlier today on what you thought was your mission, we had group three and four here, going through this simulation. See?”

“
Well, aren't you guys the clever ones.”

It finally sank in with all of them and cheers erupted. They h
ad passed their mission finals. Which meant, advancement to the next level of training and a step closer to real field work. Vylette turned to Lewis.

“
You knew this whole time didn't you?”

His smile was answer enough.

“You told Mr. Buchanan when you first joined that I was to be on your team and within reach for your protection. So, yes, I knew, but I follow your lead...now, before you go all crazy on me, none of you ever asked if this was real or fake...”

“
So, you have us, on that one.”

S
he turned to her friends. “Well, we are all advancing to the next level and I can't say I would want to be on mission with anyone else. We are an awesome team.”

“
Hell yeah!” was their reply before slapping hands and walking off with the rest of the crowd.

She holstered he
r gun as she noticed Dorrian walk her direction, wearing a smirk.

“
I told you, you would make a great leader.”

“
Nonsense. I am not the leader. We all made the decision on what we did.”

“
Exactly. Now, come on, it's time to celebrate with everyone and then we can do some celebrating on our own.”

Pulling him close, she kissed him with the fevered passion he always ignited.

“Let's go.”

Chapter 25

Vylette stood in formation with the rest of the trainees. They all faced the front waiting for today's assignmen
ts. She had only been out there for fifteen minutes and sweat was already starting to wet her skin and soak her clothes. The sun was high and hot, leaving very little shade frying the leaves off trees preventing them from offering much wind to cool things off.

This, her second summer here, she was finally getting used to it. Her only complaint, all the sweat made gripping things almost impossible. Still, standing next to all these people she had gotten to know, she never felt more confident about the decis
ions she made to join this cause. In the year and a half she had been there, she now knew almost all the recruits, new and old, with the exception of the women and children Dorrian brought in.

They had barely had much time together, with her final mock mi
ssions and his real ones, but when they could, it was always the same— fun, adventurous and hot. Thinking back on it, she hadn't noticed that Vallmore had started talking.

“
I want to congratulate all of you on a job well done. You have worked so hard, and worked fiercely. We have all seen all of you grow and become the warriors you are now. However, unfortunately, not all you will advance. For those of you who don't, do not count this as a setback for you, because it is not. Granted, you are not advancing, but that does not mean that you have done badly. For a few of you, it just means we would like to work with you on a few things before we advance you into the field. As I call your name, please walk up and allow Mr. Harlow to affix your mission pin to your chest then move past me and over to Travine, so she can update you security clearance. Let us begin...”

Vylette stood, stock still listening to the names being called and smiled at the people she knew when they turned to
the crowd after being pinned. One by one, the group dwindled as they were instructed to leave after getting pinned so that they could get new uniforms and tracking devices.

Her nerves ignited a
n air hammer in her chest, accelerating her pulse. Between the heat and her near hyperventilation, it was all she could do to keep from passing out. She had to mentally focus on her inner strength and pushed past it. A cool breeze from somewhere helped her to calm her nerves and gain control of herself and she glanced around. To her surprise and horror, she stood with three other people, everyone else had been pinned and were gone. To her left, was Mike, then herself, next to her was Jared, and next to him, was Jazmin.

This is crazy? My team didn't advance? How the hell is this possible?

She looked up at Vallmore as she, Hardass and Travine, moved off the platform and stood before them. When she caught the look on Travine and Vallmore's face as they looked at her, she bit back her anger and replaced it with confusion.

Clearly something is going on he
re. Travine looks like the cat who ate the canary.

Vallmore, stood in front and center, smiling proudly.

“I know that you may be wondering how the four best recruits didn't advance with the rest of the class, yet here you are, they have moved on and you are still in the training grounds while they are off celebrating. So, in short, this Academy knows who is the best of the best, and in this batch, it is you four. So, you are advancing to something else. The four of you, are moving into the Special Ops program with a real mission...”

Her knees almost buckled.
Real Mission...Finally!

Vallmore continued.

“Travine and Harlow will accompany you to the command center for more details. Before you do that, each of you needs to grab some food and shower, quickly. You're new uniforms, which really is just black clothing, will be waiting for you. Once fed, showered and dressed you will take the back elevators and come to the command center where you will be given further instructions. The catch, none of the other recruits are to know what you are doing or your status. From this point forward, your status and rank is Classified. When you are questioned about what it is you are doing, you're answer is: 'The same thing we were doing in training, just more mock missions', but you are not allowed to go into details about missions, real or fake. Congratulations and we will see you in the Command Center.”

Without another word, Travine, Hardass and Vallmore, walked off leaving them to stand and soak it all in, alone unable to a
sk any questions. It took all of about two minutes to sink in and when it did fully penetrate her brain, she dropped to her knees, happy as hell.

I have done it! This is it, my first real mission.

It all came crashing in as the shock and haze wore off, it began with the finality of the course, the realization that she had made it and ended with an abundance of excitement.

She tuned
in to her group. “Our first real mission!”

Like a handful of school girls cut loose with a credit card in a mall, they all che
ered, jumped and celebrated their victory and advancement.

A collection of 'whoo
ps', 'Hell yeahs' and 'whoo hoos' seemed to echo through the trees as they hooped and hollered making their way back to the main building.

Chapter 26

Vylette, still shaking
a bit from left over excitement, listened very intently as Hardass Haiden Harlow explained the situation. The man held a small piece of plastic and metal between his thumb and fore finger, it looked like a small rectangle smashed into a collection of wires and this was the outcome.

“
This is your tracking device. It will be slid right under the skin, deep enough it can't be felt, but not too far that it can't be removed if there is a need for it. We do this because this job is dangerous and anything can happen at any time. If a worst case scenario happens and you are captured, we need to know your whereabouts. Another neat little trick with this, is that there is very little that can jam it, so you can't be hidden from us. It is very high tech and way above what anyone else has thus far. So if you will have a seat in that chair in the back of the room, Lewis will insert the device for you and I will get them up and running.”

She made her way to the back of the room to the make shift cubicle, Lewis' smiling fa
ce appearing above the curtain. She smiled back, but couldn't keep her comment from bursting forth. “Lewis, did you purposely have them bring in smaller curtains just so you could look taller? Or are you standing on something to seem that tall?”

His laugh,
very deep from his chest, rumbled through the room like thunder. “You know me, Vylette, Gotta be the biggest guy in the guy in the room.”

Truly, all joking aside, he was always the biggest guy in the room.

“Lewis, just how tall are you?”

“
Six, nine...or so the doctor always told me growing up. I’m a little older so it's possible I shrank an inch or two.”

“
I doubt that's possible, you are like a freaking giant to me and my five, six ass. You make me feel like a hobbit.”

“
Well, you do kind of look a little like Frodo.”

She said, “
Haha! Very funny,” as she made her way to the cordoned off section, along with the other three. Mike was up first and he looked terrified and unsure. Vylette could hear the softness of Lewis' voice while he assured Mike it wouldn't hurt and he would barely feel it. She adjusted her position so she could peek around the curtain. Mike was laying in the reclined type chair, with a small tin table between him and Lewis, who had his back to her. Looking a bit further, she watched the guard somehow slip the small device into a needle and shoot it into Mike's arm. Cringing, she absently rubbed her own arms.

I hate needles. He is either a tough guy or a really good sport, I
’ve never seen him even make a face or suggest it hurt. Hey, maybe it doesn't...

Mike got
up from the chair and it was her turn. She shuffled over and sat in his place and waited for Lewis to stab her. His voice was just as smooth as before.

“
You will only feel a little twinge, it doesn't hurt. The worst part is the needle point breaking the skin.”

She eyed him wearily.
“I doubt that, I hate these things. They always hurt.”

She turned away determined not to look.
Don't look it won't hurt.

“
Tell when you are about to poke me.”

All was silent for a moment. Ic
y coolness coated her skin and she knew he was cleaning the area where he would stick her. The back of her arm, held tighter in his grip indicated that he was about ready for it.

Here goes...

She gritted her teeth and waited...and waited.

Huh?

She glanced back and Lewis still holding her arm, was also doing his best no to laugh.

“
Are you going to make it, Vylette?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “
Quit making fun of me and just get it over with.”

He wasn't the only one laughing, her classmates joined in the round of chuckle
s.

“
What?”

Lewis filled her in on what she missed.

“Vylette, the tracking device is already in your arm.”

Moving her arm this way and that, feeling around just to be sure. She felt the alcohol
, but she never felt the needle go through her skin. Her hand pulled on her skin, looking for a puncture wound and found a tiny speck of blood on her inner arm. Proof, he had indeed stuck her.

“
Well, I'll be...you were right...I never felt it.”

“
You will learn, what I say is golden.”

As much as she didn't want to, wit
h the smirk on his face, she smiled back.

“
Yeah. Yeah.”

She hopped out of the chair and headed to the little
desk across the way where Hardass was activating their trackers, leaving a smirking, chuckling, Lewis to aggravate the others.

I am so glad he is
going to be on my team. I feel safer already.

Taking the seat, Hardass
offered, she sat down and waited for his instructions.

“
Okay, Vylette, I need to prick your finger...”

He did.

“...and I am going to input it into the system to match it up with your tracker...and...Viola! We are done. If you will look up at the wall map, you will see you are now a blinking red dot. Active and safe.”

She glanced up and spotted her number right away. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, it showed her exact location on an
other screen, her stats next to her picture.

Vylette Echo: Special Ops     Status:
Classified    TN# 33EV42  Location. US Academy/Culture

“
Okay, that is just scary cool.”

“
That's how we do things around here...Scary cool,” Hardass answered.

Once all of th
em had their trackers in and active, it was time to hear about where they were headed and what they were up against. She had pulled up a chair, and using a small piece of desk, scribbled notes on the mission as Hardass Haiden spoke in detail on what had happened and what they were expected to do.

“
As you can see this is a map of Florida, and here is where you will land. A limo will be waiting for you at the airport to drive you here to your hotel in West Palm Beach. A logistics and back up team is already there, set up in the hotel monitoring things while they wait for you. We recently caught wind that Drekkon Wyndmire is in town. In the 1970s he was a young up and coming mob boss assistant, since then he has built quite an empire. He is one of the biggest catches in the trafficking world and as luck would have it in Florida scouting new talent...talent as in new ladies to steal, at the annual End of Summer Bash thrown every year by one of his associates. We have Intel that suggests each year two to four girls are taken from this party, but as he has paid for half the police force in WPB, no one has asked many questions.”

Vylette asked what she knew the rest of them were thinking.

“Then how did we find out about it?”

“
Well, because we own the other half...of Florida. It has been a five year sting operation to finally get this far and with all the intel, plus this party, we have enough information to rescue any of the girls he brings for entertainment to this year's event, any that he takes and the best part, we have the locations of where he is keeping all the others.”

It was Mike's turn to ask questions.

“Are they all in Florida?”

“
No. You guys will be responsible for rescuing the new ones, and the entertainment, we already have teams on the ground awaiting instructions to get the others. What we have decided is to have all the girls at every location to be rescued at the same time, that way when it gets back to Wynmire, he won't be able to give orders to have the others moved. I mean, he will of course, go that route, but they will be gone and he will be left...well we will see how this plays out.”

Jazmin, who was always the quiet one, asked a question even Vylette was going to wait and see if they just gave the order rather than bring it up.

“Is there an 'approach with extreme prejudice' order for him and his men?”

You could have heard a pin drop the room got so quiet. Everyone knew what that meant in this business
.

“
Yes, there is, but not from your team.”

That kind of got the room heated, as all four of the new
agents got in an uproar.

“
What?”

“
Hold on!” Vylette quieted the others. “What are our orders and who is going to take him out? How is this going to work?”

Haiden was quickly explaining,
“You four are the extraction team only. You will take out any opposition that comes against you, but first and foremost, you are to rescue the captives. Mr. Buchanan is already in Florida in negotiation meetings with Wyndmire. He has the order for Florida. The original meeting was for a group of women in one of his overseas locations, and then we got lucky and found one location after another. So to buy us time to pull this off, Mr. Buchanan is in another meeting vying for the purchase of additional women. There are four locations overseas and one in Florida. The other teams have their orders.

You four, this is the run down. Vylette and Jazmin, we are sending you to the End of Summer Bash as college students. It is your objective to be the
ones captured by him and put with the other girls. It is imperative he want you both. You two will be the inside eyes and first command of rescue. While you are on the plane you are to study and learn the layout of this location. We have for you surveillance footage and pictures of heat signatures from inside the building to give an idea of where the women and the guards are located. Since we do not actually have eyes inside, this is the best we have.”

“
What is plan B?” Jazmin asked.

“
What do you mean Plan B?”

“
What I mean is, what if Vylette and I are not picked. Then what?”

“
Then you rely on your training and find another way. There are so many variables in this situation we can't accurately come up with a plan B. We will be in constant contact with all of you, and improvise as we go if need be. Once we know what's going on, then we can formulate a plan to get you where you need to be.”

“
Okay fair enough.”

Vylette sat in awe at the mome
nt of Jazmin. The girl had gone from the scared little recruit that she’d had to take responsibility for to the aggressive, let’s make a plan and destroy shit, woman. She had a great head on her shoulders, a quick wit and could now take orders like any other soldier. She was Vylette's favorite person to take on mock missions because they worked so well together. Hardass Haiden went on with further instructions.

“
Now guys, you will also attend the party as potential scouts. You are just coming into the business and looking to start a small company, so just a few girls to get you going. Ask for blondes only, now that Jazmin and Vylette have blonde hair, that may help put them on his radar. For the most part, since you are going is as potential clients, hang out at the party, mingle and get as much information as you can.

“
Under no circumstance are any of you to acknowledge or communicate at this party with the exception of the two girls who will be together and the two guys will be together.

“
If there are any questions, ask them now. If not, head to your rooms, change into some street clothes and head to the limo.”

It was all quiet in the command center for a fe
w minutes, the recruits letting it all sink in and the instructors awaiting any questions. Vylette had a last question before she went on. “I have a question. What about Lewis? He is supposed to be with on all my missions.”

Hardass
looked back at Lewis, who looked to be wondering the same thing and back to her.

“
He will be at the party, keeping an eye on you from a distance. He will be given a hand held device, that looks like a cell phone, to keep track of all of you, but since we want you and Jazmin caught you can't be seen hanging out with him.”

“
I don't like it,” Lewis said. “This is their first mission and it feels like we are throwing the girls to the wolves. I was under the assumption I would be with them.”

“
If you have a better plan, Lewis, please let em know. I don't like it either, but that being said, if I thought Vylette and her team couldn't pull it off, I wouldn't do it and neither would Mr. Buchanan.”

Vylette shared a look with Lewis, and they both caved. The two had gotten close enough they c
ould almost read each other's mind. Plus Lewis, knew Vylette had the attitude, to agree and then do whatever she felt was the best course of action. She turned to her team.

“
Are we all in agreement with this plan? We still have time to work this out.”

By a
show of shaking heads and a murmured, “Yes.” her team agreed with the plan. She glanced at Hardass. “Then let the team in Florida know we are coming.”