Paul called everyone else in and the room felt very crowded. Karlen, Rene, Tobias, Kattie, Dobin, Alto, Almin, Duff, Paul, Jessy, Sean, Marie, and Sam were as ready as they could be. Their new gear was not done yet but they had what they could. Some gear had already been sold, not knowing this was going to happen.
"My mother has put together a force and is only bringing us along to, in her words, prevent us from doing something stupid. Mom will come to visit me, and we will all leave from here through a portable teleporter, secretly. If there is anything you need, go get it now."
Blaine's watch went off and he quickly stepped into the hall, seeing who it was.
"Hello grandmother. I have my bag packed as you requested," Blaine said quickly, hoping to make her happy.
"Good. I will be in the teleport room soon. I require you and your little friend that I met before to meet me there."
"Yes, ma'am. Anything else?"
"Just don't be late." With that, she disconnected the call.
Blaine turned back into the room. Lana listened to the call and had grown a bit pale. Kyle switched with Blaine.
"I got you," Kyle tenderly traced her jawline, "I won't let her hurt you."
Lana removed her bracelet and placed it under Kyle's watch. She didn't know what Barica had in mind but knew it wasn't good. He was as familiar with the storage space as she was. She was afraid Barica would find it on her and then she would have the original book back plus a treasure trove of other things that only her man knew she had.
They looked back at their friends, "we'll see you soon."
Dobin grabbed hold of her in a tight hug, "I'm sorry I failed you. It won't happen again," he whispered in her ear before letting her go and pushing her toward Kyle. "Keep her safe."
"That is my only priority. I promise you, Dobin, soon I will be your brother-in-law," Kyle's tone and the steel in his eyes told Dobin this was more than a promise. It was a vow.
Kyle nodded at their friends then looked at Lana. They shared a knowing, reassuring look then headed for the door. Kent could sense the tension in the air, so he poked his nose from his hiding place to observe. He thought maybe mom and dad could use his expertise.
In the teleport room, the couple found two guards and a general waiting. General Hansen appeared to have more grey hair than when they last saw him. His 5'10" frame seemed to slump forward just a little as if he was fighting defeat. The wrinkle on his forehead seemed just a bit deeper as well. His eyes, however, maintained their neutral tone. He clearly hated the woman he was about to receive but had no choice but to do so. The military didn't fund itself.
The general's eyebrow shot up when he saw the two cadets enter holding hands.
"It was her orders. I don't want to incur her wrath," Kyle stated in simple explanation.
The general nodded in response then faced the portal the woman no one wanted to see would appear from.
Just after Kyle and Lana left, Chekof and four other students received a message to report to General Hansen's office. Three bewildered and one excited student converged on the same location.
As they all gathered in the reception area, the portal activated and a woman who appeared to be middle-aged formed in front of them as the teleportation process completed. She was wearing a business-styled dress which still managed to have a slit in the side up to her hip. She had a sultry smile on her lips and venom in her eyes.
"Lady Barica, it's good to see you again," General Hansen said. He hated dealing with her but refused to allow the generals under him into her grasp. He felt the base was safer if he dealt with her.
"Likewise, General. Oh, there is my precious grandson. I see you have followed my orders, Blaine. Very good. Lana, has anyone else been foolish enough to mess with my grandson?"
Lana didn't like her tone one bit, but she had Kyle at her side, providing her strength to answer.
"Just beasts, Lady Barica."
She grew a bit more attentive, "were you placed on his team?"
"No ma'am. Our two teams, plus another have a goal of getting the special outing at the end of next month so we all teamed up on the last outing. We had injuries but we all survived because we worked together."
Barica nodded, "tell me about this last outing as we walk."
Lana did while heavily editing her involvement. Still, she just got to the bebarac area when they entered the reception area of the general's office. Lana also needed to edit out the fact Kyle helped out because she didn't want Barica to try forcing Kyle to come out. They wanted Barica to think Kyle was still too afraid of her as that was their ace.
In his office, the general sat at his desk, Barica at his side.
"Blaine, stand beside me. Lana, stand on his other side and you'd better keep holding his hand!" Barica's tone was mainly friendly but Lana was almost shaking in fear. She knew this woman had bad intentions toward her.
Lana bowed slightly, not moving, her head down, "I'm not worthy, Lady Barica."
Barica's tone was a bit more harsh, "yet you have served my family well. Stand where I say to stand. Now!"
After Barica had her toy appropriately cowed, she told the general to invite in all her other guests. On the other side of Kyle, he squeezed her hand lovingly to remind her he was there for her. Kent gently pet the back of her neck. Petting always helped him so he returned the favor.
The other students entered, only a single female among them. Lana only recognized Chekof with a flick of her eyes.
A voice of silk oozed off Barica's tongue, "Rikardo Null, Spencer Distortio, Ariae Tractatio, and Chekof Starskiy, you have each been given the distinct honor of a weekend internship with Abel Genetics starting today. You will be compensated for your time. You will be returned on Sunday afternoon to not disrupt your studies. Do you have any questions?"
"Why us?" Rikardo asked.
"One thing we do is ability research. We won't do anything invasive or prying, but we want to understand more about abilities in general. We have done this with many students in the past and our knowledge has grown exponentially. We are hoping our research can help people break through to further strengths with their ability in the future. So many top out and can't get stronger. We feel this is a tragedy with the looming threat of the Walkers, so we work with the military to attempt to overcome such shortcomings."
They all looked at each other. Rikardo was a level-5. He had not topped out yet but his older sister topped at level 3 so it was a deep fear of his. At the same time, his ability was Ability Nullification. Anyone within 5 feet of him was unable to use their ability. He felt it was more of a curse than anything.
"Ma'am, has there been any research into changing abilities? Mine is more if a detriment than anything…"
Barica nodded, "Much research has been done but so far, everything has led to a dead end, I'm afraid. We can always enroll you as a contact for future research with that in mind if you'd like?"
He nodded vehemently.
Spencer felt the need to ask, "has there been any success in expanding MC to strengthen our ability? I'm topped out at level 3." Spencer's ability was spatial distortion.
"We haven't had any breakthroughs yet but we were close with our last round so I'm hopeful."
Ariae couldn't keep her eyes off the three people in front of her. She knew Blaine and Lana were a couple not to be messed with. Their reputation all over school was terrifying if the things the others were saying were true. The fact they killed a lioant in one move each made her shudder. Ariae didn't know it was injured before they got there.
She asked timidly, "may I ask your relation to the two people standing next to you?" She had a level 4 air manipulation ability.
Barica puffed up proudly, "he is my grandson, Blaine, and she is his protector, Lana. There was an unfortunate incident where a girl from this school thought he would be her… toy. Lana put her in her place. She has our family's gratitude."
Ariae gulped and nodded. She had read the news. She knew the person who touched Blaine no longer drew breath. She just didn't know the details.
"Thank you, Ma'am."
Barica nodded back, "If there are no further questions, we will be heading out. General, thank you once again for your support."
The general rose from his seat to walk her out of the office. Soldiers were gathered to escort her to the teleport circle. As they were escorted, "Lana, could you finish regaling us with your story of your last outing on our way back?"
Lana nodded and resumed where she left off. Soon Barica and the students were through the portal and in a parking garage. They all filed in Barica's air ship that was guarded by her own security. As everyone buckled in, "just as the military put you to sleep to keep the location of the base hidden, we have the same policy. Many companies are trying to steal our research. Just relax and sleep. It won't take long to get there."
The boys next to Ariae didn't seem too concerned but she was. She decided to go ahead and follow them and relax though her gut told her to run.
Barica closed a window between them and hit a button to release a gas. She had Kyle and Lana up front with her. Lana finished the story just as a large 15-story building came into view. The only windows she could see were on the top floor. It seemed to be constructed of the same chromanthium as the military base. Lana wondered who invented it and how expensive it was.