The Red Army

{Blade}

I sighed once again as I watched the news reports about things that happened with my daughter Eve throughout the years. It seems that Eve is doing pretty well for herself. But what my mole has told me, she's an Enforcer now working for the Council.

The Council is a group of people who call most of the shots in the Organization. They do have someone over them named Queen Amore who will give them orders if need be. True, the Elders have some power to make decisions but if an order is handed to them from the Council they can't refuse.

However, the leaders of each congregation are the same. In order to get the Council to consider doing something about the leaders it has to be a serious issue that needs to be reported and an investigation is done. Most of the leaders get reported because someone has a beef with them so the matter doesn't get looked at unless it's an Elder that does the reporting.

The fact that Eve works for the highest people who govern the congregations tells me that she won't walk away from her job ever.

"Boss? Are you okay?" I heard Jeremy ask.

I rolled my eyes. That was another issue I've been dealing with recently. I should've never promised that scumbag that he could marry Eve. Now the plans have changed, big time.

Eve's married to a wonderful man who's a famous billionaire named Levi Harriman and they look like a really happy couple. Not to mention now they have a child. A daughter.

I gave Jeremy a tight smile and said, "I'm fine."

"Oh, okay so I wanted to ask you something," Jeremy said.

"And what might that be?" I asked.

"I was wondering when you were planning to give me the go ahead to get my bride?" Jeremy asked.

I grit my teeth. "And who is this bride that you're talking about?"

"Well, it's Eve of course," Jeremy said while giving me a look as if to say 'duh.'

I groaned. "I hate to break it to you but that ship has sailed. And it sailed far, far away into never never land."

Jeremy's jaw dropped. "What! But you promised!"

"Oh I know what I promised Jeremy, but your bride is already married now. And she has a child," I said. I took the USB that had the footage of Eve's wedding and plugged it into my laptop. I motioned for Jeremy to come towards me.

"What's this?" Jeremy asked.

I smiled. "Footage of Eve's wedding."

As Jeremy watched the footage he looked like his soul left his body. Then he had a look of rage on his face. "You fucking promised me! And you let her stay married to that bastard?"

I stood up and picked Jeremy up by his shirt collar and squeezed his neck. "Listen punk, I know what I promised but I was lying! And if you think I'm going to let a scumbag like you marry my daughter you're sorely mistaken. You're the one who pulled the wool over her eyes letting her believe that you were single when you were married didn't you?"

I let go of his neck enough to let him answer. He wheezed, "Yes but I was going to divorce my wife for her. I-"

I squeezed his neck again. "You were going to divorce your wife for Eve? Too bad I had one of my moles inform her of your treachery."

I dropped him on the floor.

"Wait, you already knew about me?" Jeremy asked while giving me a look of disbelief. "Then why did you promise her to me? What's your plan?"

I laughed. "What do you think? I just need people like you who either want to pursue Eve in a romantic relationship or want to be like Eve to join my army. I had to get to you before the recruiters of those congregations got to you. Yes, you won't have any super hero abilities like Eve does but you'll be fighting on my side. This is a civil war we're talking about here- well more or less a secret civil war. But I'm going treat you just like the congregations would treat a traitor if you try to backstab me."

Jeremy made a face and I continued, "If you try to backstab me or back out in any way keep this in mind. I'm tracking your family and all I have to do is give the word to one of the many mafia boss's that I work with and you and your family are dead."

Jeremy gulped. "You're not serious, are you?"

I got down to his level and looked him dead in the eye. "Do I look like I'm joking? I'm dead serious. Because once my army takes over the world, I'll put the human race to where it's supposed to be. Now, get lost before I smash your face in."

Jeremy got up and ran out of the room as fast as he could. I laughed and went back to my laptop and started typing up more plans. I didn't want the congregations to go away. I had plans for them. True the congregations wanted world domination and I wanted the same thing. But I didn't want it to happen in the shadows. I wanted it to happen out in the open. I wanted the Agents within the congregation to get credit where credit is due.

That's why I left my post. True part of the reason why I ran wasn't because of fear but the other reason I ran was because of anger. The Elders and the Council refuse to allow Agents to take credit for a job well done. I doubt they're letting Eve take credit for destroying that meteorite three years ago.

But when I start ruling the world, things will be different.

***

{George}

I couldn't keep my excitement at bay when I showed up at Cornwall Security right on time. When I walked into the building the secretary looked up at me and smiled. "Let me guess, you're a new Agent aren't you? Can I see your badge Agent?"

I nodded and took my badge from out of my suit jacket. My badge looked like a badge that one might wear on the police force. Only it doesn't say 'protect and serve' on it. It just says Agent and then whatever the Agent's ID number is. My ID number is Agent 722.

The uniform that I'm wearing is a standard black suit with a black suit jacket that has a white shirt underneath it. I also wore a black tie, black dress shoes and black sunglasses to complete the look. It was the same type of uniform Eve wore before she became an Enforcer.

"Alright Agent 722," the secretary said. "Your division is on the tenth floor. Take a right after you get out of the elevator and your Boss's office should be down the hallway fifth door to the left. Good luck!"

I smiled and followed directions. When I got to my new Boss's door I paused in order to see the name on it. The name on it was: Father Duke Head of Division 325.

I knocked on the door. "Come in!"

When I entered there was a man sitting at the desk. He looked old enough to be in his mid thirties and that meant he was possibly older than me. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. He also had the same type of uniform that I had on.

He smiled at me. "Hey there newbie! I'm Father Duke, your new Boss. And you should be meeting your partner today." He looked at the nearby clock on the wall and rolled his eyes. "That is if she decides to obey orders today. That woman has really been treading on thin ice right now. She's already been demoted from being a high ranker for not following orders and on probation. If she doesn't get with the program soon-"

"I'm here!" I heard someone shout.

I turned around and tried not to laugh as I saw a young woman who was probably about my age standing in the doorway panting as she had run a marathon. She was wearing the same uniform I was and she had black hair and black eyes and tan skin. She also looked like she slept the previous night in her uniform because her hair and her uniform looked completely disheveled.

Father Duke groaned. "Ah, Charlotte, so nice of you to grace us with your presence this morning."

"I'm sorry sir I can explain-" Charlotte started.

"Save it!" Father Duke snapped. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay, George, meet your new partner Charlotte. Her Agent ID is Agent 54. Charlotte, meet George, your new partner and his Agent ID is Agent 722."

Charlotte paused and then frowned. "You're pairing me up with the new guy? Seriously? Look I know I got demoted from being a high ranker but-"

"Once again, save it! You will follow orders whether you like them or not," Father Duke snarled. "Is that clear?"

Charlotte hesitated when Father Duke snarled again, "Either this is clear to you or I could just fire your ass right here and right now."

Charlotte gulped. "Yes sir, everything is crystal clear."

"Good, now I shall hand out your first assignment," Father Duke said. He pulled out a file and handed us two pictures from it.

The pictures looked like a bird's eye view of a mansion.

"These two pictures are of the Darlastate Mansion," Father Duke explained. "You are to meet up with two other Agents at the location that you will be dropped off at. They already have the main target hostage and your job is to extract as much information as possible from the hostage. The hostage is a mafia don who has been accused of harboring traitors who left their posts from the congregation."

"Alright! A torture mission!" Charlotte cheered.

Father Duke face palmed. "Don't overdo it this time Agent 54. You know good and well that only time you kill a hostage is if after three days of torture and they won't give you any information. Got it?"

Charlotte nodded. "Yes sir." She muttered underneath her breath. "Killjoy."

"What was that?" Father Duke asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all sir," Charlotte said.

"Good. You two are dismissed. And George, good luck!" Father Duke said.

I chuckled a little as Charlotte and I left the office.

***

Once we got down the hallway in the elevator Charlotte turned to me. "Look, let's get a couple of things straight since we're going to be partners for the time being. I don't like you. So don't go getting any ideas."

I snorted. "You don't have to worry about that because I'm gay."

Charlotte frowned. "Well damn way to bruise a girl's ego! I was just kidding."

I rolled my eyes. "Uh-huh sure you were. You looked dead serious to me."

Charlotte groaned. "Why did I do so wrong that I had to get paired up with a newbie Agent who's really hot and totally my type? Why universe? Why?"

"Listen, we don't have to like each other to be partners. Let's at least be civil with each other," I said.

She nodded. "Okay, fine. I can do being civil. So… You're the new guy, huh?"

I nodded slowly. "Yes, we've already established that. And?"

The elevator dinged signaling that we had arrived at the parking garage. Charlotte seemed to know exactly what vehicle to go to because she went up to a black SUV and pressed a button on the driver's side door. She turned to look at me. "You coming?"

"Yes," I said.

I sat in the passenger seat up front in the car and looked around. It looked like a normal SUV that could fit a family of four comfortably.

"This vehicle is State of the Arche and it's built to survive any type of gunfight and even grenades. I've heard rumors that it could possibly survive a nuclear bomb, but uh that's just rumors," She explained. "This vehicle is outfitted with every type of weapon you can think of, oh and it can fly but when we fly we turn on the invisibility shields. The government doesn't want people getting wind of the fact that they have flying cars already."

I shrugged. "Makes sense to me."

As soon as we left the garage and got on the road Charlotte gave me a mischievous look. "Ready to fly?"

I paused but before I could say anything Charlotte pressed a combination of buttons on the car's dash and the car took off like a rocket. I never thought I'd get motion sickness on a flying vehicle before but I did. Most of the aircraft that I've traveled on have been private jets that go slower than the speed Charlotte was going. I swear this woman has a lead foot.

Once we landed at the spot we were supposed to meet the two Agents I immediately got out of the car and found a place to empty the contents of my stomach.

"Oops," Charlotte gave a nervous chuckle. "Sorry about that. I tend to have a lead foot. I forgot that first time rides can be hard on a new Agent."

"You don't say?" I said after I finished puking.

Charlotte handed me a bottle of water and I drank it when I heard two people laughing as they came out of the shadows.

"Seriously Agent 54?" One of the Agents said. "You really need to stop overdoing this. You should be like me and actually go the speed limit set for those vehicles. Because my first time flyers don't get sick!"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah whatever Agent 003. Just because you're still a high ranker-"

"That's the thing," Agent 003 said. "I'm still a high ranker." He looked at me. "You must be a newbie."

"Is that obvious?" I asked.

Agent 003 nodded. "Brand new uniform, no damage from a gunfight or anything like that that I can tell. I tend to be pretty observant. That's part of the job." He gave Charlotte a sideways look. "And looking out for your partner is another part of your job Agent 54."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah whatever."

The other Agent standing next to Agent 003 said, "Shouldn't we get going so that our target doesn't escape?"

Agent 003 shrugged. "Sure, let's go."

We followed Agent 003 and his partner into the mansion and down the hallway into some sort of basement. When we got to the basement I was surprised to see a woman tied up with a blindfold over her eyes.

Agent 003 rolled his eyes. "What? Don't look so surprised, Agent. Uh, what was your ID number again?"

"Agent 722," I answered.

"Yeah, there are women who are traitors just like there are women who work for the congregations doing various jobs and whatnot," Agent 003 said. "Just like there are women who are Agents. This woman is our target and she's a traitor."

He tied the blindfold and she glared at him. He laughed, "Aww that's cute! Little kitten has her claws out."

"You're stupid because you're on the wrong side of this war," the woman said. "When Blade starts ruling-"

Agent 003 slapped her hard and I wouldn't be surprised if she saw stars from that slap. "If I hear that traitor's name one more time."

"Tell us what we want to know!" The other Agent snarled.

"Go fuck yourself!" The woman snarled back.

Agent 003 took off his suit jacket and handed it to his partner. "Fine then, this is going to be fun."

"Oh! Can I join?" Charlotte asked with a little bit too much eagerness.

Agent 003 paused. "I'll think about it. If we can't get anything useful out of her in the next hour then maybe."

Charlotte pouted, "Aww, no fair!"

He chuckled. "Since when is the life of an Agent fair? You guys go up front and be on the lookout in case the calvary is called to rescue this traitor."

Charlotte grumbled and followed orders. I went with her and guarded the exit.

Charlotte groaned. "Ugh! This is so boring! I hate this part of the mission sometimes."

"We're on the lookout, anything can happen," I said.

"True, but most of the time, nothing happens. Unless the target is of such high value to the enemy that reinforcements arrive," Charlotte said.

Even though we were just outside the door I could hear the woman screaming and yelling curses at the two Agents torturing her. After an hour or so the screaming stopped.

I paused. "Is the target dead?"

Charlotte shook her head. "Nope. This is normal. Once the target starts running out of steam for the day the policy is that Agents are to take a break with them and go back at it the next day. And on the third day if the target refuses to talk then the target is killed. And the newest Agent in the group gets to do the killing."

I gulped. "So if the target doesn't talk then that means…"

Charlotte smiled and nodded. "Yup! It's possible you might get to do your first kill on this mission! Don't worry you'll get used to killing people over time. It's part of the job."

***

It took three days to torture the target and she still didn't talk. What I was afraid would happen, happened.

I was called into the room and the woman sitting across from me tied to the chair glared at me.

"Do you think I'm afraid to die, newbie?" The woman growled.

Agent 003 came up to me and handed me a gun. It was a semi automatic hand held. The type of gun that a regular police officer would carry. He looked at me and said, "This is an order Agent. Don't answer her. She wants to have the last laugh before she dies."

He gave me a sinister smile. "One shot to the head and one shot to the heart."

"Or we could have him kill her slowly," Charlotte interrupted.

Agent 003 facepalmed. "Seriously Agent 54? Get outside now!"

"But I was just trying to help!" Charlotte whined.

"That's an order Agent!" Agent 003 snapped.

Charlotte left the room and I tried not to laugh at her antics because this was a serious situation.

Once Charlotte left, Agent 003 looked at me and nodded. "Do it."

I grabbed the gun and pointed it at the woman's head and pulled the trigger. After I shot her in the head I pulled the trigger again and shot her in the chest.

Agent 003 ordered his partner to untie the woman's body and it fell to the ground off the chair. Strangely enough, looking at the dead body I felt nothing. I didn't feel any sadness or thrill, I felt nothing.

I frowned. "I don't get it."

Agent 003 raised an eyebrow. "Don't get what?"

"Am I supposed to feel anything after I've had my first kill?" I asked.

He gave me a wary look. "Most agents at least feel some sort of horror or dread after their kill. Why?"

I shook my head. "I don't feel anything."

His eyes went wide and then he quickly regained his composure. I tilted my head. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just make sure that you get plenty of rest on your days off after this. That's all," He said.

***

A couple of days later when I had to report to Trainer Shawn for my training I had trouble getting out of bed.

"Hey George," Branden said. "Do you have to go to work today?"

I groaned. "Yeah I'm getting up. Why?"

"You don't look so good," Branden said.

I looked up at him to see him frowning and shook my head. "I'm fine. Just give me a minute."

After a moment I got up and took a shower and got dressed. I didn't get a chance to say anything else to Branden because he had already left for work.

When I got to the training area Trainer Shawn frowned.

I looked at him. "What's wrong?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," Trainer Shawn said. He sighed, "Of course the newbie is going to try and push himself when he's sick."

I took two steps forward and practically did a faceplant on the ground. Trainer Shawn helped me get to my feet. "Alright soldier, you're going to the medics and more than likely you'll be sent to the hospital."

I didn't get a chance to answer him when the world started spinning on me and I passed out.