I've been putting this collected edition off, because figuring out what to include was driving me nuts. Finally settled on this: The first appearance of Danika was actually considered Patron Saint of Crime #12.5, and she continues in PSOC through #16, and into the two-issue Siwang: PSOC series, before getting her own series in Valhalla Can Wait. After VCW, she's in the ten-issue El Paso: The Mean Streets, again crossing over somewhat with PSOC. Then back to her own titular series, and then into Destiny which is unfinished.

That was another reason I put this collection off. Imp' only put out two of the six planned issues of Destiny, but in other places, she references things regarding The Wishing Demon that I'm sure were supposed to happen in the mini-series, but we didn't actually get to see. It's not completely clear to me, and I have yet to find any info in other stories that will let me piece it together better. Part of it might be in Prelude to the Amazons- I still need to read that thoroughly.

Since there is so much overlap with PSOC, I just put in a notation with a link for the PSOC and El Paso issues, rather than trying to fit all those stories in this collection. Sorry for the back-and-forth, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. -cbishop/FicOPedia

Thaliana Broadcasting Studios, Los Angeles, California

“I wish you could remember this as much as I will…” The platinum blonde holding the revolver purred, “…but I'm afraid that you be doing all your thinking in Country for the next ten to life.” She stated as her sidekick, a short man with a fish hook through his lip handcuffed the blonde man lying unconscious on the floor.

“Turn that off will you.” A voice groaned as the credits rolled over the image of the blonde escorting the man outside to the waiting police car. Turning to look down the table, the scrawny man wearing aviators with purple lenses and a business suit removed a cigar from his jacket pocket, lit it and took a deep breath. “Danika darling I love the show but your ratings are down, people like when you're hunting down criminals but you make it look too easy.”

“What do you mean?” The blonde haired woman at the end of the table asked in a Ukrainian accent as she smoothed out the crop-top she wore, the front emblazoned with the logo ‘Danika Sedova: Bounty Hunter Babe’. “You told me ratings were good Mr. Mc Kellum yes?”

“They have been better, have you thought about appealing to the ‘Avengers Generation?” Mc Kellum suggested as he looked over the assorted people sitting at the table.

“I am not wearing anything more skimpy then I already do on air.” Danika hissed. “And I’m not going to start call myself something like Huntress or Blond Bombshell.”

“I don't know I like the sound of Fishook.” The man with the hook in his lip stated as he ran thick fingers over his bald head. “And Tabby could be Gimble while Maurice could be Chaser.”

“No Brian I will not be some kind of show pony for the teenage demographic. I started this show to reassure the public that somebody could reach the criminals the law couldn’t. You now have me chasing after bail jumpers and jaywalkers, I need a challenge.”

“Babe listen your big now, plus you're good looking. “ Mc Kellum told her. “We're not going to risk sending you after the bad guys, there is a certain profit we get from you looking like a supermodel.” As he finished his words were met by the scrape of chair legs as Danika and her film crew got to their feet. “Where are you going babe?”

“We've just decided to go independent.” Danika purred. “You remember my escape clause in the contract I signed for Thaliana Broadcasting, well I'm invoking it unless you can find me a better class of criminal to hunt.”

“Not going to happen babe. Without us your revenue dries up. I give it a week and you'll be crawling back to old Mckellum for your spotlight back.” Mckellum snorted as Danika left the office. “Dames all alike.” He said as he coughed on the cigar before turning the TV back on. “Nice rack though.” He commented as Danika turned and blew a kiss to the camera at the end of the credits.

**

Casa Sedova, Beverly Hills, California

Danika poured herself an iced tea as she sat by the side of the pool at her Beverly Hills estate. While she loved the house she hated what it represented, and while she had no idea what the rest of her crew felt about what had happened she was glad they had gone with her. Between Brian ‘the Hook’ Baldwin, her underworld contact, Tabitha Taylor, her camera woman, and Maurice Cartier, her expert getaway and pursuit driver, they were a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately Hollywood didn't see it that way.

“Hey Danika you've got a visitor.” Tabby yelled from the kitchen. “It’s the man from Texas we met a while back.” She added as a well built man wearing a pair of jeans and a leather jerkin walked in.

“Well if it isn't the little girl from the frontier.” The man sneered.

“Huh takes a walking scarecrow to know one.” Danika hissed as she got to her feet and met the man half way across the floor, the pair of them bumping fists. “You look awful Kenneth.”

“And you look like you've been enjoying the weather too much.” Ken replied as the pair sat at the ornate metal work table beside the pool. “Been catching up on the re-runs by the way. Don't tell me you're happy being eye candy for some studio executive.”

“I never was but up until recently I thought I was doing a public good.” Danika sighed. “Still what have you been up to? Still the nightmare of the cartels down on the border?”

“No, I’ve been in a chemically induced coma for the last few weeks.” Ken answered before removing a box and sliding it across the table to Danika. “Take a look at this; they pulled it out of me. Apparently everyone else died from the toxicity of the weapon but you know what they say.”

“You can't bulls**t a bulls****r.” Danika purred. “What does this have to do with me?”

“I need help; I'm man enough to admit it especially after being out of the game for a while.” Ken answered. “And you, despite what the jealous types are saying, are the best in the business.”

“What’s the profit margin?” Danika asked. “And what do we know about this guy?”

“Girl, the shooter is female.” Ken announced. “We don't know much, but from the E-Fit El Paso Police Department is circulating we know she’s Asian and in her mid to late twenties. As for the reward; the Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Aviation Authority. EPPD, FBI and Homeland Security are offering a million each, either for her capture or corpse.”

“And you’re really chasing down this woman?” Danika asked as she removed a black crossbow bolt from the book Ken had given her. “This is crazy even for you Zimmermann.”

“I know what that means.” Ken said with a wide smile as he took

Remove his hip flask from his belt “To partnership.” He toasted as Danika broke the bolt in two.

“And to breaking the woman whose death is our next pay check.” Danika added as she clinked her glass against Ken’s flask. “Now let’s go hunting.”

Valhalla can wait is, the spiritual successor of my first real attempt at an OC series named the Patron Saint of Crime. While it never had a large following, it was mildly popular, and was very different to the other stuff I was writing at the time. Unfortunately the series was linked to the original Writer’s Guild and once that got into trouble with poor turnout, the Patron Saint of Crime died with it. And while the main characters were never forgotten, a variant of Siwang, the titular Patron Saint of Crime, appeared in 5th Column alongside an unreleased character named Stallion, the tiny universe created around this character was never brought back in earnest.

Recently however I got into the mindset that the series or at least the characters were worth saving, and after a month and a half of planning wrote the first issue of Huntress and Valkyrie, a title referring to Siwang’s new role as a protector working alongside long time foe Danika Sedova. In the end it felt forced and Siwang was removed, if only temporarily from the equation leaving Danika to take on the challenges of liberating El Paso from the criminal occupation alone.

The title was the next thing to change, and went through three different names including; Danika Sedova: Bounty Hunter Babe, Valkyrie and Last Days of the Valkyrie before becoming the current title Valhalla Can Wait. While a few of the characters appeared in the original Patron Saint of Crime title, it has been some time since they appeared and long time follower cbishop rose the point of a character guide, something I agreed possibly was required.

So as such this blog will act as library*, character guide and anything else required for this title. Hope you guys enjoy. [*library links removed, because the stories are here in this collected edition -FOP]

Impurest Cheese

Character Guide

Protagonists

Danika Sedova - Alias: Valkyrie

A Ukrainian national, Danika Sedova or Danni to her friends, is an international mercenary who worked for a time as an Interpol agent. After a particularly nasty case she found herself fired, and became a bounty hunter for hire in California, even landing a reality TV show, although she personally disliked being simple ‘eye candy’ and preferred the thrill of the chase. That came in the form of fellow bounty hunter Kenneth Zimmerman the 3rd, who had a vendetta against the Patron Saint of Crime. The pair teamed up but failed in their first attempt, with the gung-ho Zimmerman being arrested, and Sedova being hired by Jena Johansson as a field test pilot for project Valkyrie.

Johansson’s backers wanted the Patron Saint of Crime captured, and sent Sedova in the Valkyrie power armour after her. In battle Sedova had the edge, but ultimately was defeated when the nano-fibre cable in her suit burnt through the thigh armour, with the accident almost costing Sedova her legs. Hospitalized Sedova would later return to El Paso after Boccanegra, the local crime lord, was assassinated, once again using the name Valkyrie. Dedicated to cleaning the now war-torn streets, Sedova teamed up with Vance Chambers, a former police technician, and started investigating the sale of high-tech military grade hardware on the streets.

Vance Chambers

Born in El Paso, Vance followed in his father’s footsteps and became a police officer, but was wounded within a year, and gratefully took a desk-job where he homed his computer skills. This, and his clean record, didn’t go unnoticed by James Grady, who was planning a rico case against local crime lord Boccanegra, and was approached to join an undercover unit. Vance agreed and was ‘killed’ by the operative known as the Patron Saint of Crime, in reality Grady’s adopted sister Maya.

After aiding Maya in gathering data, Vance was told to leave the unit after the Patron Saint of Crime had a nervous breakdown. Out on the now war torn streets, Vance was approached by Danika Sedova, who was looking for technical support to aid in tackling the influx of dangerous crime brought on after Bocanegra’s death.

Antagonists

Dr Jena Johansson - Alias: Black Box

A gifted scientist, Johansson works for Raido Computer Consulting, a branch of a shadowy consortium with loose ethics. She was paid to bring the Valkyrie Power Armour to El Paso by the Weaver, and later chose Danika Sedova to be the first test pilot. After Sedova’s defeat, Johansson was demoted, but apparently has enough influence to bid on a unique piece of hardware known as ‘The Chisel’.

‘Smithy Weston’ - Alias: Gunsmith

An independent arms dealer who only occasionally dealt with the cartels, and often supplied high tech weapons to third parties. One such group was Danika Sedova and Kenneth Zimmerman, who brought weapons, explosives and a drone from his base in Truth and Consequences. Zimmerman rapid Weston for his services, by shooting him through the skull, and leaving him for dead.

This apparently didn't stop him however, as Weston reappeared auctioning off ‘The Chisel’ in his base at City Hall. At least three men resembling Weston were seen at the auction; with two bearing surgical scars, thus throwing suspicion on whether Zimmerman killed the original Smithy Weston, or if he was just a facsimile of the real man.

Soko - Alias: Falcon

An aged Serbian sniper, the man known only as Soko is wanted for war crimes committed in the Kosovo Crisis and the collapse of Yugoslavia. In particular was his torture of children, using a painful venom housed in a ad-hoc knuckle duster. Decades later he arrived in El Paso looking for someone to perform a mercy killing after he was diagnosed with cancer. Angering Boccanegra after killing two of the crime lords drug dealers, he crossed paths with the Patron Saint of Crime, a fight that cost him his son Svareck, after he was shot with a curare tipped bolt.

Soko recently returned to bid on the weapon known as ‘The Chisel’. The current status of his cancer is unknown.

Weaver

A Chinese enforcer working for a gang boss, known as the Dragon Eel, based in Macau, the Weaver arrived in El Paso, after paying a debt to his master, and was in return allowed to see his child again. He attempted to capture the Patron Saint of Crime, hiring Jena Johansson and by extension Danika Sedova to complete the task. Sometime later he promised to stay out of the city but returned, possibly under the instructions of the Dragon Eel, to bid on ‘The Chisel’

Cross of Grace Church, El Paso, Texas

Father Robbins was well aware of the situation outside, that the death of the crime lord Bochanegra just a few days earlier had plunged El Paso into hell. And while he truly admired the efforts of the police and the National Guard to take control of the city there was only one cure for the madness, and that was to penitently kneel before the lord. Some already knew this and had fled to the church looking for sanctuary but he had turned them away. Salvation was one thing but Robbins remembered the last time lawlessness had clutched the city, that and the constant reminder from the rifle round that still rattled around his hip. As such the sudden knocking wasn’t a surprise to him and he ignored the sound and went back to his prayers. All of a sudden the sound of an engine replaced the knocking and an up-armoured Ford 550 came barrelling through the doors before slamming into Robbins.

“Set up, if we’re lucky that Saint Chick will show up and help us out.” The passenger in the front seat stated as he slid out and walked over to Robbins, his silhouette dark against the backdrop of a city on fire behind him. Dressed in a grey boiler suit covered with a bandolier of grenades and a gas mask over his face the man bent down and touched the priest’s cheek. “Forgive me for this Father.” He lamented before removing one of the grenades and stuffing it down the man’s throat.

“Laurence, Morris, Norbert I don’t want that tin plated b***h getting in here you understand!!” He bellowed to the men dressed almost identically to him save for their lack of bandoliers. “Shoot on sight, do you underst….” The rest of his words were lost in a hail of automatic fire as the three gang members opened fire at the hole created by the Ford’s forced entry into the church. One standing to the left of the Ford was taken down as their target returned fire, a pistol round slashing into his leg and sending him toppling to the floor.

“Pete what should we do?” One of the thugs asked as he slipped behind one of the Ford’s open doors.

“It’s Willy Peters not Pete!!” The leader boomed as he removed another pair of grenades. “Now let’s see how she deals these!!” He yelled before pitching both of the grenades over the vehicle, their casings cracking open and releasing a smokescreen of thick white fog. “Now get back out there Morris or I’ll shove one of these up you’re a**!!” He ordered whilst giving ‘Morris’ a swift kick in the rear. Seconds late a trio of pistol shots could be heard and Morris came barrelling past, his gun dropped and his arm bleeding from two well placed bullets.

“Okay missy you want to come after me, fine but you’re going to find out there are going to be consequences.” Pete snorted as he removed a detonator from his pocket and held it up for his attacker to see. “Take your shot but if you do the priest gets sent to hell aflame! Now drop your weapons and come out with your hands up.” His answer came moments later as a pistol came skidding across the floor towards his feet followed by a pair of stylised throwing axes.

“She’s…she’s giving up…” Morris gasped from where he lay bleeding out.

“Oh shut it you maggot!” Pete snapped back at him as he peered into the fog. “Now come out Missy or the priest gets it.” He ordered before seeing something glint in the fog. Before he could even depress the tiger something red hot lanced through his hands right down to the bone before they dropped to the floor, trigger still held tightly be the severed limb.

“By the way,” A female voice announced as a blonde haired woman dressed in red and gold ballistic armour, a respirator clamped over her mouth connected to a small canister on her back, “the name is Danni not ‘Missy’ but you can call me Valkyrie just like all the rest of your kind.” She added before retracting the length of nano fibre cable back into her gauntlet. "That stings I know, a certain saint used it to burn the muscle on my legs, took me a year to heal but I have the feeling it may take you a bit longer."

“I’m gonna kill you missy, I swear me and my boys are going to rip your head off and stuff enough high grade explosives down your neck hole that…”

“That what?” Danni asked as she pulled the grenade out of Father Robbins mouth. “You are armless, and very soon you’ll be in jail.” She added before removing four sets of handcuffs and chaining Pete’s thugs to the door of their vehicle. Pausing she shot Pete a smile before slamming him head first into the bonnet of the Ford. “Call 911 and tell them you have a Class C Felon contained here.” Danni instructed Robbins before walking back towards the hole in the wall.

“Wait thank you, and may God bless you miss.” Robbins called after her. Turning he looked at Pete and shook his head before heading for the phone in the back. Once the police had removed these criminals he vowed never to turn anyone away again, he owed his angelic saviour that much at least.”

**

‘The Abby’, Floor 11 Texas Tower, El Paso

The former apartment in the Texas Tower was loaded with computer equipment and thick cables that snaked across the floor to every available outlet not to mention a portable generator sitting in the bathroom. Flopping down onto the bed Danni pulled off her breastplate and inspected the myriad of bullet slashes that had scarred the titanium plate.

“Rough night?” A voice came from the balcony as a dark skinned man dressed in jeans and a t-shirt overlaid with a bullet-proof vest asked.

“No more then usual Vance.” Danni replied as he sat down next to her and inspected the breastplate. “Still I took down William Peters AKA Private Phosphorus tonight.”

“I know Officer West sent me a text saying they picked him up a few minutes ago. She did want to know why you felt you had to go as far as to cut off his hands.” Vance asked as one of the computers beeped twice.

“It was the only way to take him down before he killed the hostage.” Danni explained as she removed one of her throwing axes from her belt and threw it into the air before expertly catching it head first. “And to be honest he deserved a lot worse with what he’s done in the last week alone. Speaking of worse, how is May, have you heard from her since…”

“Since she went psycho and kicked us out of our operation’s centre forcing us to move from safehouse to safehouse? No, I haven’t and there has been no sightings in the past twenty four hours.” Vance announced as he checked the alert the computer had sent him. “It seems Siwang’s last kill is going to be herself though, I can feel it in my marrow.”

“Can you blame her; she lost everything in the space of forty minutes. Her brother, her lover, her mission, her integrity and her sister were all taken away from her the day Bochanegra was assassinated.” Danni answered as she reached into the bedside cabinet and pulled out a bottle of water. “But that aside it looks like we have something.”

“You remember Smithy Weston?” Vance asked before brining up a mug shot. “Calls himself the Gun Smith, well looks like he’s holding a private auction in city hall.”

“Wait didn’t I kill him?” Danni asked a confused look spreading across her face. “No fair why can’t dead guys just stay dead.”

“Well his resurrection aside the auction is for something called the XC-280 ‘Chisel’, a project so secret that I can’t find a lick of information on it. That said we don’t want it out on the streets whatever it is, hence why we, and by that I mean you, will be visiting them tomorrow evening.” Vance explained before turning to Danni. “That’s if you feel that you’re up for it?”

“Well the Valkyrie armour needs some retooling to keep it combat ready but it should handle it alright.” Danni answered before running a gauntlet finger over the opposite hand.

“Oh you won’t need it.” Vance stated with a smirk.

“And why’s that?”

“It’s black tie only.” Vance answered. “You’re going to have to be civil and charming for once in your life.”

“Pft I am very charming and very civil.” Danni replied with a smirk.

“Yeah right.” Vance deadpanned. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

‘The Abbey’, Floor 11 Texas Tower, El Paso

“How do I look?” Danni purred as she leaned against the door-frame, a light blue dress hugging her curves, whilst a sapphire pendant graced her neck. “If you like it, take a picture, because you won't see me wear this ever again.” She added as she walked over to the chair Vance was reclining in.

“Don’t need to, this whole place is bugged,” Vance answered smugly, “including the showers.” He added. Rolling her eyes Danni slapped him on the back of the head, before walking over to the window. “You’re ride called; they’ll be here in ten minutes.” He announced as he rubbed the place where he had been hit.

“Who’s supplying the cash for the auction?” Danni asked as Vance walked over to the main bank of computers. “Because between us, we only have about a hundred dollars.”

“US Government, not that I'd trust them with whatever the thing the Gun Smith is selling.” Vance answered. “It’s a masked auction to boot, so it'll be a little harder to ID the other bidders.” He added as he reached under the desk and pulled out a pink carrier bag. Slipping her hand inside, Danni pulled out a silver framed headband with an attached face guard and long sweeping stylized wings, which ran back across her hair. “See those lenses across the eyes; those relay data back here to the Abbey, not to mention they let you see across the majority of the electromagnetic spectrum.

“If only I had one of these for the winter formal three years ago.” Danni stated sarcastically, “Hmm do you know you have an arrow head stuck between you fourth and fifth ribs by the way?”

“I wondered where Siwang put that.” Vance replied in an equally sarcastic voice. “Oh heads up, looks like your ride is here.” He added as he flicked through the camera feeds, until he got the one he wanted the screen showing a battered Casspir APC pull up outside the tower. “You know it’s bad out, if they send a mine protected vehicle to take you on a nine minute journey, to your destination.”

“Well maybe if we take ‘the Chisel’ off the streets things will get better.” Danni suggested, as she grabbed her mask and a purse, before slipping into a pair of high heels. “Wish me luck and keep in contact. This could turn ugly very quickly.”

**

City Hall, DowntownEl Paso

City Hall was remarkably intact, despite sitting in the middle of a war-zone. And while the guards, and hastily erected sentry towers had something to do with it, most of it was down to the reputation of the man running the auction. As she tottered up the steps, Danni mused on her one and only meeting with the man known as Smithy Weston AKA the Gun Smith, and how she had left him bleeding out on the floor. She wasn't proud of that moment, or those that followed, but now wasn't the time to fixate on past events.

“Miss, we need to check your bag.” A guard announced, shocking Danni out of her memories. Nodding she handed him the purse, and watched as the guard swept a scanner over the item. After a single beep, he opened up the bag and removed a handgun and two clips of ammunition. “Weapons are not allowed into the auction room; you can check them here or leave.” The guard explained as he slipped the pistol back into the purse.

“I expect them back once bidding is done.” Danni told him as a second guard joined the second and took the bag. “This is your slip,” the guard told her, as he handed Danni a pink slip of paper, “don’t loose it or your gun becomes Mr Weston’s property.” Danni nodded before slipping the paper into her bra, as she walked towards the full body scanner standing before the door, a trio of guards armed with assault weapons waiting for her.

“Step through and wait on the other side.” The first guard announced. “Any action other then that, will be considered hostile.” Calmly Danni stepped through the scanner and came to a stop on the other side.

“She’s clean, no concealed weaponry.” One of the guards stated. “Head inside and pick up your paddle.” He ordered as the other security agents lowered their weapons. Taking a deep breath Danni continued inside, wordlessly taking in the row of security cameras tracking her every step. She was so focused on the security that she almost bumped into a man dressed in a suit, who was waiting at the end of the corridor.

“Number Four I presume.” The man announced in a classic Texan accent. “Welcome to my auction.”

“Mr Weston?” Danni spluttered as she took in the man’s features, ones that were uncannily similar to the man she had seen executed over a year earlier. “I was expecting…”

“Take your paddle, mingle and have something to eat.” Weston told her, “The auction begins in half an hour.” He added, before flashing her a smile, one that made Danni even more uneasy, than she already was. Walking down the stairs into the main room didn't help, there were seven people already in the room, all wearing masks as well as two more men who looked identical to Weston.

“Tell me you saw that?” Danni whispered as she headed to the buffet table, her eyes fixed on one of the hosts.

“Yep, I saw all three of them.” Vance answered. “Images match the man found dead in Truth and Consequences a while back. Well almost, two of them had scarring constant with plastic surgery.”

”I didn't see that.” Danni stated as she shot one of the Weston's a quick glance

“Zoom filters in the mask caught it, anyway forget about him, and look towards the back of the room.” Vance instructed, just as Danni picked up a salmon sandwich and twisted her head to look over the shoulder. “Okay see those gimbals on the ceiling,” Vance asked, “they are connected to a remote operated .30 calibre machine gun.”

“Yes I can see. The thermal reading gives it away.” Danni announced as the lenses flashed red. “The guards both have a sidearm as well; none of the other occupants, whoever they are, seem to be armed however.”

“Relax, I’m filtering audio and running the voices against Interpol, the FBI and just about every other database on earth.” Vance told her as Danni took a bite out of the sandwich. “As soon as I get something I’ll let you know.” He added as a well built man, dressed in a white suit and wearing a black mask with a fanged mouth guard, walked over.

“I wouldn't bother with the food.” He purred in Greek accented English. “Finally looks like someone half decent turned up.”

“Half decent? You're making some presumptions Mr…,” She stopped and looked at the marker he was carrying, “Paddle Number Five.” Danni replied, a half smile forming under her mask. “So Mr Five, what’s wrong with the food.”

”It’s been out for an hour.” ‘Mr Five’ replied. “And I presume that while cooked, it may have picked up trace amounts of the other bidders spit and bile on it, from their time over her.”

“And you’re over here why?” Danni asked cheekily. “Surely the food is too filthy for you?” She asked, her words causing a massive grin to spread across ‘Mr Five’s’ face.

“I’m clean in clean situation,” He announced as he came in close, “and filthy in dirty ones. And why I’m here, well predators always target those who stray from the herd.”

“True but you made a mistake. I’m not the prey, I’m the predator and you isolated yourself.” Danni whispered before pushing the man away. “Have fun bidding, if you’re lucky you may just come in second.” She added, before striding away, a massive grin on her face.

“He may well be.” Vance told her. “I've got an ID on him; a one Jase Sallas AKA the Manticore. He’s currently on retainer for the FSB and most likely bidding for them too. He’s is likely one of two bidders who could match us; the other is the woman dressed in ocean blue, she’s an old associate of yours, a Ms Jena Johansson AKA the Black Box.” Vance told her as Danni fixed eyes on the other blonde woman, nervously sipping a glass of champagne.

“She’ll be bidding for herself most likely.” Danni answered. “How about the others?”

“Two international terrorist; Itopa AKA 1 Death from the Sons of Montezuma, and David Rubio AKA the Ibex from the Free Catalan Movement, both are wanted by Interpol.” Vance told her as Danni watched the two men in suits with a skull and goat mask size each other up. “Guy in the gold silk covering is the Weaver; I doubt I need to introduce him or his employer the Dragon Eel to you.”

“No, although I’m surprised he’s here after the promise he made Maya, after she found out he was her father.” Danni whispered as a woman dressed in a forest green dress walked past, her face covered in a porcelain mask, followed by a man walking with a cane, his dress uniform contrasting with the feathered mask he wore.

“The other two are known, but their affiliation is not. The older gentleman is a former Serbian officer known only as Soko AKA the Falcon. The woman is…oh you’re not going to believe this.” He gasped before the line exploded into static, just as Weston emerged from the back room flanked by a pair of guards, the men grunting as they carried in a large crate decorated with radiation warning stickers.

“Bidding will start shortly.” Weston told the assembled criminals and mercenaries. “But of course you’ll want to see if your money is being well spent, as such a demonstration will be held in five minutes, and can be viewed from the balcony.”

“Excuse me Senor Weston.” The Ibex announced as he looked up at the box. “My link to my commanders has been severed, I demand an explanation!!”

“Yes I have doubt they have, and I apologise for that.” Weston announced, his face displaying anything but sorrow at this development, “The weapon you are about to see scrambles local electronics when in close proximity to them when fully charged. I assure you when bidding starts your connection will be re-established. But until then…” He stopped and looked at the other two Weston’s in the room and smiled at then. “…you are all in this alone.”

The main courtyard, of what had been city hall, was now occupied by a row of seven battered APCs, their paint rusted, and headlights cracked. Despite that, Danni knew they were all still serviceable, still viable to carry troops to and from battle. So as she and the other bidders stood on the balcony, she wondered just what exactly Mr. Weston was about to show them. In addition part of her wished Vance was still linked in; she could use his analysis on whatever was about to happen, right about now.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Smithy stated, “the tank is an integral part of any nation’s war machine. And from that one design that rumbled over the fields of Flanders a myriad of designs have sprung forth, as well as an equal amount of weapons for the grunt of the field to deal with them. Well tonight,” he announced, as a man walked into the courtyard, a bulky looking canon slung over his shoulders, the weapon’s barrel lined with blue lights, “I announce the extinction of the tank!!” He yelled as the man fired a burst of light and the sound of screeching metal emanating from the courtyard as a shell smashed through the line of APCs and the perimeter wall, into the building over the street. As the light faded, the sound of applause filled the air, and Danni found herself the only one not clapping, a worried look on her face as she imagined what the weapon would be like, in the hands of any of the others around her.

“Bidding will commence in five minutes.” Weston stated, “So take the time to tell your backers what you’ve just witnessed.”

**

Danni sat in the woman’s restroom, as the transceivers in her mask linked back to the Abbey at a painfully slow rate. “Vance are you there?” Danni asked, as she heard someone else enter the bathroom.

“Thank God, I completely lost you for a few minutes.” Vance sighed, relief flooding his voice. “Listen I have an ID…”

“It can wait, I just saw the ‘Chisel’ in action.” Danni spluttered, as she peaked out through the door to see the unknown woman standing outside, her phone clamped to her ear. “It’s some kind of rail-gun, one that’s man portable and fires a shell strong enough to cleave through a column of tanks.”

“Are you sure? I’m bringing up some satellite images of city hall now…oh my, those husks were…”

“Yes they were, do you know of anything like this outside of science fiction?” Danni asked, as the woman outside left, the door slamming behind her.

“The US and British Navy are using an electromagnetic catapult to launch aircraft, and there is talk about large scale canons for ship defence, both are viable but there have been teething problems. It is after all a new technology.” Vance replied, “Cost and overheating are the major problems, but in a hand hold weapon there is also the issue of powering the weapon. My guess is that the ‘Chisel’ is using a neodymium magnet to fire the shell.”

“Neodymium, that’s a rare mineral right? And I’m guessing that charging the magnet does structural damage?” Danni asked, as she stood up and left the stall.

“It’s possible, new technology goes through all kinds of problems.” Vance answered, as Danni stopped as she saw a briefcase left under the sink. Bending down, Danni ran her hand along the top of the case, before backing up. Heading for the door, she felt something impact on her back, its tip digging into her skin. Spinning round she saw the attacker, holding the walking stick like a rifle, smoke billowing from the end.

“Soko?!” Danni asked, as the old man advanced on her, his feathered mask making his face look inhumanly menacing. Without saying a word, he took a swipe at her, with his gun cane, his target only just blocking before she slipped under his guard, and delivered a punch to the face. Staggering backwards, Soko threw his cane away, and held his hands up in a defensive stance, before lashing out, the blow slamming into Danni’s throat. Wheezing she doubled over, before receiving a knife chop to the back of her neck.

“This pain is going to be intense, but you will survive assuming my employer wins the lot.” Soko told Danni, as he slammed a two clawed knuckle duster into his victim’s neck. “If he doesn’t get what he wants, you won’t leave this bathroom.” He added, as Danni screamed in pain, before receiving a kick to the chest. “Fight the venom all you want, only one has ever resisted for more then a minute and you aren’t her.”

**

Danni grunted in pain as she opened her eyes, and looked up at the high ceiling before sitting up in the bed she found herself in. Looking to her left she saw her mask and wig lying on the bedside cabinet, and placed the later on her head.

“You have cancer.” A Greek accented voice stated, causing Danni to look over to the right where Jase Sallas AKA the Manticore was sitting, his mask off to reveal forest green eyes, tanned skin and a goatee.

“It’s in remission.” Danni answered, “Why are you here?”

“I declined to bid.”

“Let me guess Moscow did a cost-benefit analysis on that thing, and found it wasn’t worth the amount Weston wants for it.” Danni announced, as she checked her mask. “At least tell me they booted Soko for attacking me.”

“He’s still in there.” Sallas answered, “The two terrorists left early when they couldn’t afford the price, they were fools, this Gun-Smith knows his weapon is a white elephant.”

“So there’s something else.” Danni whispered, “Do you have any idea what it is?”

“No, but the nano-trancievers I seeded on everyone picked up mention of a second lot for auction.” Sallas answered, before removing a coin sized disc from his suit pocket. “It’s also how I found you.”

“Great security picked up my pistol, but everyone else managed to get weapons into this place.” Danni complained, before fitting her mask back onto her face. “So what do we do about this second lot?”

“We find it.” Sallas stated, as he got to his feet and placed his own mask on his face. “And when we do we access what to do with it.”

“How do I know you won’t betray me?” Danni asked, as she covertly opened the communications link in her mask.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Sallas answered her.

“You lead, I’ll follow.” Danni announced, “We will need to find this weapon first. Once we have, then we can discuss our agendas, and go from there.”

Safehouse, Villa Ahumunda, Mexico

A shot sounded as the gang of men stormed the building on the other side of the plaza, before emerging a few minutes later dragging a young couple onto the street. The man was slung into the bed of a pick-up truck, the majority of the invaders jumping on as it pulled away leaving two men alone with the young woman. The first beat her with the pistol he was holding, as his comrade pulled down his pants, before falling forward, a ragged hole drilled through his chest. Spinning round the remaining gunman spent a few long seconds looking for the shooter before being felled by a bullet himself.

“That was stupid Senora Sedova.” The Hispanic man sitting on the bed, dressed in a T-Shirt and jeans snorted as the blonde haired woman dressed in urban camo trousers and ballistic vest closed the window and stood the FN FAL against the wall. “She is El Aquila just like I was, she will send her hermanos to investigate.”

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to ask for amnesty from the US Government Jose. And maybe you should have asked last time you were in the States.” Sedova announced, her accent tinged with a Ukrainian accent, as she checked the clock on the table. “The Federal Police escort the ambassador negotiated is late.” She mused, as she removed a pair of handguns from her holsters and checked the ammunition levels. “We may have to move to the secondary extraction plan if they don’t show.”

“It is amusing how you gringos rely on the police for your safety.” Jose sneered as he shot a look at the FAL in the next room. “They can be bought just like anyone else.” He added, as Sedova removed a pair of water bottles from the small fridge and placed them in a rucksack. Packing more supplies the sound of sirens began to grow louder until a pair of police cars tore into the square followed by a pick-up truck full of armed men dressed in street clothes, an eagle painted on the flanks of the vehicle.

“These aren’t federal units.” Sedova sighed, as four officers got out of the car, their handguns drawn and at the ready whilst the men from the truck headed round the back of the building. “They are municipal police.” She added, as she threw a towel over the FAL and walked to the door, just as heavy fists pounded on the door. Opening it, Sedova shot the officers a smile. “Can I help you officers?” She asked in Spanish.

“You are under arrest on suspicion of murder Senora.” The lead officer stated, as he pushed Sedova back to allow his men into the room. “Place your hands on the wall.” He ordered, as two officers dragged Jose out of the bedroom and pushed him to the floor. “You Senor are a very popular man with El Aquila, he requests that you speak to him about the theft of some data about his operations.” He added, as Sedova tapped her foot on the floor, an explosion of light and sound erupted from the tiles. Whirling around Sedova slammed the Captain in the gut, before tackling the officer in the door way and wrenching his pistol away. As the light faded the two officers guarding Jose opened fire although the flashbang grenades detonation had thrown off their arm. Retuning fire Sedova shot both officers in the arm, the pain shooting through them causing them to drop their guns.

“I told you.” Jose hissed, as Sedova holstered her pistol and picked up the FAL before shouldering the rucksack.

“Just get ready to move.” Sedova ordered, as she headed down the steps into the building’s basement, Jose hot on her heels as the pair of them arrived in the garage. Moving to open the door Sedova stopped as she heard banging on the garage door. “Your hermanos?” She asked Jose, as he crouched behind some boxes. Not waiting for an answer she flipped an IR sensor connected to the FAL open, the pad showing six men standing on the other side of the door. Rolling her eyes Sedova opened fire, the bullets chewing through the flimsy wooden garage door into the men outside. Pushing the door open Sedova scanned the area before removing the ammunition from her FAL and tossed the gun away.

“What are you doing?” Jose asked, as Sedova pulled an MP7 Machine Pistol from her bag and headed out into the side street. “Why did you throw it away?”

“It’s a little obvious even for this lawless town.” Sedova answered, as Jose chased after her, the pair of them arriving in a street lined with shops, restaurants and garages. “I have a vehicle rented from El Paso stored in a local garage.” She added, as the pair of them mingled with the crowd of shoppers going about their business in the late afternoon. Crossing the street, the pair of them entered one of the roadside garages filled with vehicles, mechanics working on them. “Senor where is the car I left here?” She asked the nearest worker.

“I will get the keys and bring it round front Senorita.” The mechanic stated, as he put down the welding torch he was using, and headed into the office.

“You are a fool gringo, this isn’t a garage it’s a chop-shop.” Jose whispered as he made sure his arms were covered. “Do you not see the tattoos on these men, they are part of El Tarantula, the enemies to El Aquilla.”

“El Tarantula, you mean they work for Boccanegra?” Sedova asked as a pair of blacked-out Cadillacs pulled up on the other side of the street. Looking up at the office, she saw the mechanic talking to a man dressed in a suit, the second man handing him an old fashioned bolt-action rifle. “Head through the shop, stay low and keep your head down.” She ordered, as she pulled the MP7 out of her holster and opened fire up at the office, buying time for Jose to dash towards the back of the garage. Heading for the back of the garage herself, Sedova fired one last burst as a few of the mechanics drew their pistols and returned fire just as the men from over the road got out of their cars and came running.

Emerging from the chop-shop, Sedova and Jose emerged in a junkyard pull of car-parts waiting to be sold or scrapped. “What made you think you could trust those men?” Jose snapped, as the pair of them weaved through the piles of junk and rusting sheet metal towards the chain-link fence on the far side of the compound.

“Gutierrez my contact in the Federal Police recommended them. Between that and their website I felt almost secure leaving the car there, almost.” She added, as they reached the fence and the locked gate. “There are wire cutters in the pack, make a hole while I buy us some time.” She ordered, as she replaced the ammo clip in her MP7 and pulled a grenade launcher and case from the bag before handing it to Jose. Turning to cut the wire Jose heard an explosion and turned to see an avalanche of car parts fall across the path and Sedova packing the grenade launcher back into the bag. Shaking his head he tore the wire away, before ducking through to the other side of the fence, his protector following him dragging her bag through.

“So what now? We have no federal escort, no car and we’re in the middle of a war-zone. I knew the US Marshall’s office shouldn’t have sent some bimbo actress to pick me…” He stopped as Sedova shot him an angry look before walking down the street towards the road intersection, her hands unbuttoning her jacket. Striking a pose it became evident what she was doing when a car came to a stop. Rolling his eyes Jose watched as his escort got into the car, before the horn sounded and the body of the driver slumped onto the pavement unconscious.

“Get my jacket and get in!” Sedova ordered, as she shifted into the driver’s seat. Nodding his head, Jose grabbed the jacket and rucksack before climbing into the back of the car. Gunning the engine Sedova headed north along the backstreets towards the main highway that lead up to the border. “For your information I was trained in Special Operations Sevastopol during my National Service back home, after that I worked for Interpol for a period, then I did that TV show before going back to my mercenary roots so I am not a bimbo actress.”

“You left our escape vehicle with a cartel chop-shop!” Jose snapped as a police car sped past the other way.

“I left it there because that was the plan, why would anyone bring a high end Mercades into Mexico. The answer, because I wanted it to end up in Cartel hands, a car like that will go to some high ranking enforcer in the United States.” Sedova explained.

“Ci, as a former driver for one of El Aquila’s lieutenants I know this.” Jose answered, as the car pulled onto the main highway behind a Ford Taurus with an eagle painted in white on the rear of the car.

“I had the car modified, there’s a tracker in one of the seats and a remote immobilizer in the engine.” Sedova answered, as they headed out Villa Ahumunda. “No lengthy police chase, no easy escape for the cartel boss inside.” She added, as the Taurus slowed down to join the queue of traffic leaving town. “Hand me my jacket and the thing that looks like a laptop from my bag, I have a feeling we have a roadblock up ahead.” She added, as the traffic crawled slowly forward. Her suspicions were confirmed by the pair of State Police Cars parked up-ahead as well as a pick-up truck, its flanks emblazoned with the mark of El Aquila.

Slowing down Sedova wound down the window and smiled at the police officer, before flicking the switch on the side of the laptop and throwing it out of the window and slamming her foot down on the accelerator and pulling away. Peering out the back window Jose watched as the State Police Cars pulled away before slowing down and crashed into each other while the men on the ground hunched over and started vomiting or even just falling to their knees holding their heads. “What was that?” He asked, as a few of the officers pulled their weapons from their holsters and fired a few shots, their bullets going wide.

“Non-Lethal Disorientation Device, it’s a little thing I picked up last time I was in Europe. The flashing lights cause headaches, vomiting and imbalance in anyone in the radius of effect. They will be in no state to continue pursuit for at least half an hour.” Sedova stated, as she accelerated, the Ford Taurus matching pace and keeping just ahead of the stolen car. “The problem isn’t behind us, it’s ahead of us, that Taurus is a pace car phoning in our position to the rest of their gang.”

“Ci I have done this before, there is a bridge up ahead where we would heard El Tarantula vehicles towards. When they passed the hermanos with rocket launchers would take them out.” Jose sighed, as he looked in the rucksack. “I don’t suppose you have anything for that?”

“Not on me. Tell me if we pull over will the pace car stop?” Sedova asked, as she rested a hand on the pistol holstered on her belt.

“Not usually but they may to make sure we don’t double back.” Jose told her. “Why do you ask?”

“I need to send a text to Gutierrez. It’s clear he’s taking handouts from the El Tarantula Cartel, and that he sent them to grab you. And while the enemy of my enemy isn’t always my friend, it’s always the enemy to my enemy.” She stated, as she flicked the hazard warning lights on and pulled into a lay-by on the side of the road, the pace car pulling onto the side of the highway seconds later. Removing her phone, Sedova slipped out of the car and typed in a number before placing the phone to her ear, her free hand resting on the sidearm. Mumbling to herself she paced up and down, before walking towards the pace car and knocking on the driver-side window, the man inside winding it down to look at her. “Howdy,” Sedova said in a mock Texan accent, “My car is broken down, I don’t suppose you boys could drive me to a garage?” She asked sweetly, the four men inside looking at one another.

“Get in.” The driver ordered, as the passenger whispered something into the phone before switching it off. Smiling Sedova squeezed onto the back seat before resting her hand on his holster, before elbowing the man to the right and drew her pistol and fired three shots into the men around her. The man in the seat to her right shook himself and reached for her throat only for his ‘victim’ to elbow him again and draw a knife, the blade cutting through his throat. Kicking the bodies out of the car Sedova gestured for Jose to come running over.

“I’ll drive, you yell down at the phone at you ‘hermanos’.” Sedova stated as she sent two texts on her phone before climbing into the front seat and putting her foot down, the Ford Taurus idling down the highway.

“Senora there is a lot of product back here.” Jose stated as he looked in the back of the car. “There is also a box of gunsights marked ‘CS’ as well.” He added as an old Cadillac and an equally rundown pick-up truck came thundering towards them, their sides emblazoned with spiders. A few minutes later the three vehicles reached a bridge, a few gang members armed with RPG Launchers already waiting for them. Dashing through Sedova watched in the rear-screen mirror as the pursuit vehicles were bombarded with rockets. As the smoke cleared from the wreckage several of the bridge-top ambush team raced to a pair of pick-ups parked just off the road and started driving after the fleeing Ford Taurus. “We still have a problem on our tail, and it just got larger!!”

“Huh?” Sedova stated as she checked the rear view mirror to see a heavily armoured truck come thundering down the road, the top mounted machinegun opening fire indiscriminately on all three vehicles. “Great Narco-Tank!” She hissed, as one of the pursuit vehicles spun off the road, as the Narco-Tank gained ground on the Ford Taurus, as the men in the second pick-up truck opened fire only for the rounds to bounce off the armoured flanks of the vehicle. “Change of plan, you drive and I’ll shoot.” She ordered, as she switched on the cruise control and slipped into the back of the car, as seconds later Jose took his place. Pulling the grenade launcher from her rucksack and one of the gunsights and slotted the former into the later and aimed the weapon out the window and fired, the grenade slamming into the remaining pick-up truck and exploding in a burning fireball.

“Senora you need to hurry!” Jose called as the Narco-Tank slammed into the rear of the Taurus, the force of the impact causing her to drop the launcher out the window.

“Slow down and get behind them!” Sedova ordered as the Narco-Tank opened fire, the machine gun bullets arching past them as Jose swerved into the left hand carriage-way and slowed down bringing the Taurus out of the line of fire. Pulling behind the Narco-Tank, Sedova and Jose watched as the back of the ‘tank’ opened and a pair of gunmen opened fire with their assault rifles, the rounds slashing off the hardened bonnet of the Ford Taurus.

“This is better!” Jose sneered, as Sedova picked up a bundle of hemp from the boot of the car and a blowtorch from her bag, lit it, and then flung it into the back of the Narco-Tank, the noxious fumes causing the ad-hoc armoured vehicle shaking before careering off the road. “How are we getting to the border with all my hermanos hunting me!”

“Oh don’t worry about that, we’re getting out very soon. Pull over here.” Sedova stated as Jose pulled the car over, before passing a sign reading ‘Casa Sedova’. “We were never heading to the border.” She added as Jose stopped the car before a wall of police cars. “I wasn’t a bimbo cop by the way, I was a professional bounty hunter, while you are responsible for the murders of two dozen people, including at least three children. The US government is refusing to give you amnesty as a favour to the Federal Police. Enjoy your time in prison.” She added, as a police officer walked over and handcuffed Jose to the wheel. “You’re going to be there for a while.”

Marina, Los Gigantes, Tenerife

The camera lens flashed as the blonde haired woman took a photograph of the marina and the numerous private yachts moored within the harbour walls. Taking more photos as she meandered through the crowd to the restaurant at the end of the harbour she saw a shadow loom over her, turning she came face to face with a massive man dressed in a suit, his bald head and crossed arms working together to paint an imposing picture of an angry man.

"Your camera seinorita." He rumbled as he wrenched the camera from the woman's hands, the strap around her neck biting into her flesh as he ripped the memory card out of the machine and crushed it. "No photography permitted." He stated, as he let go of the camera with enough force that the woman tumbled onto the concrete. "Have a nice day." He finished, as he stalked towards one of the jetties leading out to the yachts. Getting to her feet the woman sprinted off, bumping into numerous tourists as she fled the marina.

"As you can see the pleasure yacht of Senior Rohas is the jewel of the marina here when it's docked." A local man told the group of tourists as they checked for their wallets and phones after being bumped.

"Uhm is it meant to be doing that?" One of the tourists asked as a salvo of flares lit up the early evening sky. Seconds later an explosion rocked the yacht as multiple crewmembers jumped over the side in an attempt to flee the flames now engulfing the boat.

"No it's not!" The guide replied, as team of security men ran against the tide of fleeing bodies, their weapons aimed at a figure clinging to the railings. "This never happens..."

**

Dressed in a striped T-shirt, jeans and shades, the platinum haired woman finished clipping the repelling lines to the side of the yacht, before flipping her body over so it was orientated head first as she abseiled down, her free hand attached to a pistol as she opened fire on the incoming security team. In the five seconds it took to reach the floor, all six of the initial attackers were dead on the floor. Righting herself, before removing the harness and reloading, the woman sprinted towards the harbour, just as the yacht behind her exploded in a brilliant orange fireball.

"Black Box we have confirmation on the destruction of the chemical weapons on board the Manos de Feugo, moving to extraction point, Sedova out." The woman stated, as a four man team mounted on quadbikes came skidding along the harbour front towards her. Rolling her eyes Sedova took a pair of shots at the first vehicle, the rounds puncturing the front tyres sending the vehicle skidding into the harbour, as the passenger on the second quadbike opened fire with a machine pistol, his target leaping down onto one of the burning boats in the marina. Leaping from boat to boat Sedova quickly moved out of range of the quadbike, the men cursing at her as a matte black RHIB boat crewed by six men launched from the marina to intercept her.

"You on the boat stand down now!" One of the men called using a bullhorn, only for the tool to be shot out of his hand as the RHIB began to run parallel to Sedova's path across the moored boats. "So be it," He sighed, "Shoot her!" He snarled as the men in the boat drew their handguns and opened fire, forcing Sedova to take refuge in one of the yachts she had been sprinting across, her repelling harness dropping to the deck as she took cover. "Go up and get her!" The commander ordered, as the clank of grappling hooks landing on the yachts railings sounded, followed by the wheezing of two men climbing the ropes. Reaching the deck, the first assailant was immediately struck down by a gunshot, his fall giving his comrade the chance to open fire with the Skorpion SMG he was carrying, the hail of shots chipping wood off the deck of the sailboat he was standing on. Ducking into the hold Sedova waited by the entrance for her attacker to wander close before activating her trap, the auto-ascender on her repelling harness dragging him across the deck and into the railings he'd just ascended.

"What goes up..." Sedova purred as she sprinted over to the boat's anchor, the men in the RHIB taking a few off target shots up at her, "...must go down." She finished as she threw the anchor over the side, the weighted chain smashing into the RHIB forcing it under the surface, its occupants flailing as they tried to avoid being sucked under. As Sedova walked across the deck towards the jetty, a pair of shots rang out as another RHIB came thundering towards her location. Sprinting along the jetty Sedova reached the end of the floating pier just as the second RHIB pulled alongside, the two passengers training their SMGs on her.

"Drop your weapons!" One ordered, as Sedova placed her pistol on the floor, before removing the back-up piece strapped to her ankle. "Knife too!" The gunman growled, just as Sedova removed her blade and stabbed it blade first into the jetty she was standing on. "Is that everything?"

"Well there is my Sentry." Sedova answered cutely as she removed the lip-stick sized stun gun and threw it at the gunmen. "Cute huh?" She asked as the second gunmen picked it up, only for his body to convulse rapidly as the weapon discharged three million volts into him. Not wasting any time Sedova leapt into the boat, tackling the first gunmen to the deck in the moment of surprise the sentry had brought her. “It’s also voice activated" She added, as the pilot turned and rushed her, a nasty looking saw edged knife in his hand.

"I kill you American!" The boatman yelled in a broken English as he brought the knife down, only for Sedova to grab him by the wrist with one hand before delivering a knee to the groin, the man wincing in pain as he fell to the deck.

"I'm Ukrainian." Sedova sighed as the survivors from the first RHIB came running along the jetty towards her. "And you guys don't care." She added, as she removed the knife and threw it towards the oncoming assailants, the ad hoc projectile stabbing into the chest of the man leading the charge. Grabbing the Skorpion, Sedova got to her feet and fired a burst down into the RHIB, the rounds deflating the boat as she dived under the water, just as the three remaining men reached the end of the jetty. Jumping onto the RHIB the first man didn't realise his mistake until the boat sunk under his weight.

"She's gone!" One of the goons yelled, as Sedova kicked her way along the bottom and out through the harbour opening.

"Dead more like it, she's been down for too long." Another thug grunted, as Danika surfaced outside the marina before diving underwater again as she headed for the beach. "When we tell the boss, we tell him it was commandos, lots of them, one woman couldn't have done all this." He added, as Danika surface again, before hauling herself onto the black sand. Walking for a mile along the shore, Sedova stopped as she reached a hunk of volcanic stone sunk into the sand.

"That should put a dent in the Cinquo Rohas Cartels smuggling operations." Sedova yawned as she lifted the top off the rock and removed a red sundress from the hollowed stone. "Thanks for tipping me off Black Box." She added, as she closed the rock and dug it out of the sand. "Anything else happening I should know about?"

"I'll let you know when I have something Danika." A female Asian accented voice announced over the rock's internal speakers. "Send my love to Tag when you get back to San Francisco, tell her I miss her, Black Box out."

"I will Maya." Sedova sighed, as she picked the rock up and headed towards town. "I always do."

Danika awoke from her sleep with a gasp and tried to sit up, only for a pain to race up her spine. Grunting she reached over to the bedside table and fumbled around until she found an injector and jabbed it into her arm, before dropping it, the empty casing falling to the floor. Taking a few long breaths she gingerly sat up and painfully swung herself so that her feet were hanging over the edge of the bed, where a pair of crutches were propped next to the cabinet. Groaning she slipped her hands into the cuffs and walked out of the downstairs bedroom into the kitchen, before sitting down at the table where her laptop was sitting on charge.

Flipping the lid open, Danika activated her skype account before clicking on the active contact bar, the face of a young woman filling the screen, her eyes glinting in the evening sun, as did her dark brown hair. "Morning Auntie Danni," She chirped, her voice occasionally breaking into a random flat tone, "How are the Canary Isles?"

"Relaxing Trisha" Danika answered, "How are things back home?"

"They're really great, I managed to land an internship with the SFPD to support my medical degree, I still can't believe it, even though I start next week!" Trisha stated, her happy grin almost filling the entire screen. "I only wish my sister was here to see it."

"So do I 'Tag', I miss her too." Danika answered. "Still when I get home tomorrow we'll go out and celebrate I promise."

"As much as I love you Auntie Danni, we both know that may not happen." Trisha replied sadly. "You're so busy saving the world that you don't have time to save yourself. You've done enough, you had a cancer scare three years ago and you promised to take it easy."

"Compared to the old times I am." Danika answered, her tone even and unrevealing of what she'd actually been up to. "I'm just a military adviser these days, I don't fight unless I have to."

"I've seen the news!" Trisha yelled. "There was a bombing in a harbour near your hotel! I know you would have been involved, you are always involved Auntie Danni. I already lost my sister in El Paso and now you're throwing you're life away. You're spine's playing up again, I can tell, by that look on your face. If ever there was an indication to stop that would be it!"

"I'll stop when I'm ready, I'm only thirty, I'm not ready to retire." Danika replied.

"That's the point, you never will, one of these days you are going to be killed!" Trisha yelled before terminating the Skype link. Placing her head in her hands Danika took a deep breath, before opening her calendar, her eyes running across the multiple 'Flight Home - Cancelled' entries, before taping on today's date and typing 'Flight to Heathrow, JFK, Home' into the space. Seconds later and the laptop chimed, and her email provider opened her inbox, the new window overlaying the calendar. "Hmm interesting." Danika purred before deleting the entry and typing 'Flight to Barcelona, Miami, Nassau - Work (Leviathan Heavy Marine Salvage' instead before whispering, "Sorry 'Tag' but I have to do this...one last time."

**

The Proteus, Leviathan Heavy Marine Salvage Ship, Off the Coast of the Bahamas

The Proteus loomed like some extinct marine monster floating on the ocean surface as the helicopter emblazoned with the whale tail logo of Leviathan Heavy Marine Salvage flew towards it. Danika had to admit that the Proteus was impressive but she had seen it before, having a number of stock options in the company, and had done a number of jobs for the company’s head of security Dietrich Stein, the man who had emailed her a few days ago. As the chopper landed on the ship's helipad, the man in question was already waiting for her, his sunburnt bald head clashing with the pale chinos and pale blue checked shirt.

"Danni, good to see you, how was the flight in?" Stein asked, as Danni, dressed in a royal blue one piece swimsuit and yellow sarong, slipped out of the helicopter and walked over to him.

"It's good to see you too Stein, as for the flight there wasn't any trouble, now what is the problem you seem to be having?" Danni asked as the pair of them walked up the ramp past a pair of heavy duty cranes and into the Proteus's command centre, the few people inside keeping an eye on the local weather patterns including a menacing looking storm front whirling out in the Mid-Atlantic.

"A Brazilian registered car transporter, the King of the Orinoco, sunk on the way to Miami not far from where we are now. We were contacted to recover the vehicles on board, but first we needed to do the initial survey, and hired local divers to help locate the bulk of the cargo." Stein explained as schematics of the King of the Orinoco appeared on one of the screens. "They were all killed alongside two of our own operatives on the wreck twenty minutes into the exploration phase of the dive. All we got were a few photographs of inconsistences in the hull."

"Do you have any idea who killed them?" Danni asked, as a photograph of a ragged series of holes in the hull of the King of the Orinoco.

"There was no other boats in the area so it wasn't rival salvagers or pirates." Stein replied. "Those holes aren't torpedo impacts, there was no damage inside the hull. Personally I think that this is the work of a 'ship welder' like the one we use, but there is a problem, the entry points are too jagged and would take too long to cut through."

"I assume you want to send an armed team down onto the wreck?" Danni asked as Stein brought up a few more pictures of the King of the Orinoco, including one showing an estimate of the depth of the ship wreck. "That's a twenty eight meter dive, that's a nine stop ascent in a potential fire fight, it's almost suicide."

"The Proteus can offer fire support to aid in any open water combat situations." Stein announced. "Not to brag but we have some of the best ROV operates in the civilian sector, and while sending them into the holds of the King of the Orinoco is almost impossible they can operate in open water without fearing nitrogen sickness."

"Then when do we start?" Danni asked.

**

The shark proof diving suit clinked slightly as Danni slipped the SCUBA tank over her shoulders, before slipping the regulator into her mouth. Checking the Prototype Amphibious Rifle, Powehead and Acetylene Torch strapped to her body, Danni shuffled over to where Stein and his men were gathered ready to drop into the ocean, a weighted depth line already pushed over the side of the Proteus's dive platform.

When we get down there stay in your assigned pairs and remember if one of you wants to bug out, both of you bug out!'' Stein ordered, as the pairs of divers, all heavily armed dropped over the side. "Three minutes per stop understand, I don't need anyone getting the bends on this mission, we are not having a replay of Thailand today."

"We didn't have the entire arsenal at our disposal in Thailand." Danni answered, a cheeky smile behind her mask, before she dropped over the side into the water, Stein following her down the red and white depth line, the change in colour marked in three meter intervals to aid the diver's in their descent down to the wreck of the King of the Orinoco. After numerous stops the sunken ship came into view, and the pairs of divers split up to cover the massive ship. Slipping through the holes drilled into the hull, Danni and Stein made their way through the lower car deck, the multiple vehicles sitting like brightly coloured corral boulders in an artificial marine cave. The only thing missing from the reef was a lack of life, besides a few small fish nothing moved in the gloom.

Climbing up one of the stairwells the pair of explorers headed for the bridge, no sign of the former crew or signs of an attack. The former was probably due to sharks, Danni mused, they and the other marine biota had probably started feeding on the bodies. Her suspicion was soon validated, as they rounded the corner to find the corpse of an immature tiger shark drifting along the body, its muscle and fat wasted away, possibly from the series of puncture marks running along its striped flanks. Swimming past the dead shark Danni and Stein drifted into the King of the Orinoco’s bridge, the broken windows giving an unobstructed view across the hull of the ship, not to mention two of the diving team emerging from a hole bored into the deck. Looking across the deck, Danni caught a glimpse of something metallic shaped like a large wing dart past the end of the King of the Orinoco’s deck, her finger pointing out the unknown contact.

Nodding Stein unholstered the amphibious rifle he was armed with and tracked the contact as it swung around and propelled itself straight at the divers on the deck, their own weapons flashing as they opened fire on their attacker in vain, as the machine slammed into one of them, his body disintegrating as it drilled through him. Ducking down into the hole he'd ascended through, the second diver fired up against the assailant as it spun round and zeroed in on him, the pair of them vanishing into the upper car deck. Gasping Danni gripped onto the edge of the windows, only to dart back as a second 'aquatic wing' shot off the deck and swam towards the bridge of the King of the Orinoco.

Ducking back into the ship Stein and Danni swam through the bowels of the ship, the amphibious wing following down the corridors after them. Swimming into a door marked 'Rec', the pair of divers desperately closed the door, plunging the already ill light room into darkness, the only light coming through a small broken window. Watching Stein breathed a sigh as their pursuer failed to follow, its rigid design preventing it from turning enough to drill into the door. Drifting away Danni felt something brush her, causing her hand to move to her acetylene torch, the cutting tool illuminating the room to reveal the bodies of the crew, all of them drained of their muscle and fat.

Looking around the room both divers looked around for an exit that didn't lead back out into the path of the drone's drilling apparatus, just as the sound of scuttling claws sounded from the ceiling. Looking up, the pair of divers saw a swarm of metallic canisters mounted on long robotic legs, tiny red photoreceptors gleaming above a metal drill tipped syringe. Lining up a shot, Stein blinked just as the acetylene torch ran out of fuel, the sparks extinguished by the ocean around them plunging the room into complete darkness.

Wreck of the King of the Orinoco, Off the Coast of the Bahamas

Backs against the door, fingers on the triggers of their amphibious rifles Danika and Stein opened fire, thick flachettes scything through the water up at the spider like drones scuttling on the ceiling of the Rec Room, metallic bodies drifting down from the ceiling like a metallic hailstorm. After what felt like an age, the sound of scuttling stopped and both the mercenary divers took a deep sigh of relief, before a piercing scream sounded as the 'flying wing' drone from earlier attacked the door, it's silhouette blocking out the light of the window and plunging the rec room into darkness. Aiming his rifle at the door, Stein felt Danika tug his hand down, as she fiddled with something in the darkness. Releasing the hand moments later she swum to the door and twisted the top of her acetylene torch, sparks lighting up the room for a brief second as she stabbed the tool into revolving drill mechanism of the attacking drone, hot sparks spitting around the room for one long moment before, with a thud the drone drifted down to the deck.

Now trapped in the Rec Room, Stein and Sedova searched around the walls for another escape route, and eventually came across a metal hatch that led into the ship's galley. Unholstering his Powerhead, Stein placed the gun's barrel against the blockage and opened fire, the exploding gas cartridge blowing the doors open, dim light know filling the room. Squeezing through the hatch, Danika removed her diving knife and eased the damaged hinges off the hatch thus allowing Stein to follow her into the kitchen. Their path was clear from there, with the main door to the galley blown off their hinges.

"That's not the work of these drones." Danika whispered as the pair of them swam out into the hallway, before crawling back towards the middle car deck only to find the pedestrian doors welded shut. "Somebody attacked this ship before sinking it."

"They're hiding something too." Stein answered, as he swam back towards the galley before swimming down around the ship's portside exterior hull plating, Danika following his wake until they reached the front of the ship, the vehicle ramp to the middle car deck locket tight save for a hole drilled into the steel plates. Keeping their amphibious rifles to hand, the pair of divers swum through the hole and straight into the car deck, the vehicles on board swarming with multiple spider like maintenance drones, each one fixated with either draining the fuel from the cars or ripping metal parts off the cargo. Occasionally one of the drones would scuttle over to a massive structure lined with thick silver canisters, bubbles streaming from the central chimney like structure. Sitting next to the device were four of the 'flying wings' all resting on the deck, seemingly powered down.

Swimming over Danika ran her hand over the disabled drone, before being swarmed by a trio of the spider drones, the gawky little arachnids pushing her away as a fourth drone scuttled over to the machine, removed a canister and carried it over to the drone, before its compatriots flipped open a rear compartment on the drone and slotted in the canister. Shuddering the 'flying wing' surged forward before lazily swung round to the exit hole, and slipped back out into the open ocean.

"Some kind of recharging system." Danika whispered, as a few of the drones deposited the fuel they had stockpiled in their own tanks into the central structure. "If we destroy that then these things die when their on-board batteries run out."

"Got just the thing." Stein replied, as he brought out a bandolier filled with acetylene torch fuel cells. "Slot those into the vacant battery slots." He ordered as Danika took a fistful of fuel cells and quickly slotted them into the slots before swimming to a hole in the floor where Stein was waiting, his hands on his amphibious rifle before taking a few shots, the cell sparking before exploding, triggering the nearest batteries and fuel cells to explode until a chain reaction engulfed the recharging station, the pair of saboteurs dropping down into the relative safety of the lower car deck.

Darting out of the lower car deck, Danika and Stein swam out towards the depth line, their amphibious rifles held close to them despite the surrounding ocean being devoid of the 'flying wing' drones. Clipping onto the line the pair of divers ascended to the bottom of the nearest segment just as a deep thud rocked the King of the Orinoco, and part of the superstructure collapsed in on itself, crushing the repair and refuel station that had been concealed in the bowls of the ship. For a moment everything was silent, but then multiple spider like maintenance drones came swarming out of the ship and towards the depth line.

Pointing upwards Danika watched as Stein tapped his diving watch before opening fire on the approaching swarm, the dart like rounds slashing through the drones, thick clouds of siphoned petrol and dissolved human fat leaking out of the ones he hit. Despite the damage, those drones that remained intact kept on coming, before climbing up the depth line towards the two fleeing divers. Just as the first few drones reached them Stein pointed upwards and swam up the next marker on the dive line. Pursuing them the drones continued to fall as both divers repelled the scuttling invasion.

Suddenly a shadow passed overhead stealing the divers focus away from the drones, as one of the ray like 'flying wings' veered round to get a clean run on its targets. Swimming towards them, the drone almost reached them, only to be blindsided by one of the Proteus's ROVs, the tiny submarines clawed arms pushing the attacking drone down toward the sea bed. Turning their focus back down to the creeping maintenance drones, Stein screamed in pain as one of the spider like crawlers drilled into his leg, the muscle and fat draining from his leg as the drone sucked the chemicals out to refill its internal fuel supply. Dropping down slightly Danika removed the Powerhead from her holster and placed the weapon against the fuel tank and fired, the expanding gas blowing the robot to pieces.

"Go!" Stein ordered as he took the Powehead from Danika before handing her a few spare amphibious rifle clips. "I can barely move, I'll hold the line as long as I can."

"I'm come back for you." Danika whispered as she ascended the depth line as Stein opened fire with the Powerhead, the drones splattering as they were mowed down by her comrade. Stopping at the next point Danika looked up just in time to see another 'flying wing' soaring towards her, its drill apparatus already churning ready for the kill. Firing a few shots Danika watched as all but one of the rounds bounced off, the on target shot hitting the port control surface sending the drone into a spin, straight into the depth line, the thickened cable tangling in the drill before it and everything attached to it was dragged back down towards the wreck of the King of the Orinoco.

Hitting the deck, it took Danika a few seconds to push herself off the bottom, her joints aching as she did so. Swimming upwards she scanned the immediate area for Stein, the hostile drones, the friendly ROV or anything moving in the sediment strewn water, but nothing stirred. Checking her air supply Danika headed upwards, her mind on edge just in case any of the drones returned for another attack, each stop increasing the level of adrenaline in her blood stream so that, when she emerged at the surface, her entire body was buzzing and for good reason too, a fishing trawler had pulled alongside the Proteus, the two vessels connected by a boarding ramp.

Shucking her air tank and checking the ammunition in her amphibious rifle Danika dived under the water and swum under the trawler towards a makeshift dive platform mounted on the rear. Poking her head above the surface Danika took note of the old soviet AA gun mounted on the back of the boat and the three pirates dressed in board shorts and t-shirts smoking next to the ammunition supply, their MP5 SMGs slung over the shoulder. These men were at rest, they must have already pacified the crew of the Proteus and were waiting on orders. Those orders weren't coming, Danika thought, as she opened fire, thick darts stabbing into the men, their bodies hitting the deck with a loud clatter. Not wasting any time, Danika climbed onto the deck, pausing only to grab one of the dropped SMGs and kick off her fins, before walking over to the boarding ramp.

Ascending the ramp, Danika reached the top with only the occasional cink of her shark-suit threatening to reveal her position. Walking over to one of the cranes, Danika slipped under the maintenance platform before letting out a short whistle. Seconds later a pirate armed with a shotgun emerged from the door to the bridge, his gun swivelling as he looked for the source of a sound he'd never find, a quick hail of darts bringing him to the floor. Three whistles later brought three more pirates up from below decks each one falling as Danika emptied the last clip of her amphibious rifle. Dropping the weapon she drew her dive knife and knocked on the door, before stepping to the side, blade raised to stab down into the pirate's skull as he emerged.

The unfortunate victim struggled for a bit, but put up no resistance to her attack, however his gear was streets ahead of the men who'd emerged before him. His assault rifle alone was more advanced than the shotguns and SMGs the other pirates had wielded, and Danika recognised the camera feed scope and uplink helmet he wore from the few times she'd used such equipment. Slipping the helmet on, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the helmet feed hadn't been synched to any other matching pieces of headwear the pirate crew may have brought on-board. Opening up the link, half of the optics showed the inside of the bridge, the captain on his knees as a tall dark skinned man dressed in military fatigues and a shark toothed bandana pointed a rifle with a wide flat barrel at the bloodied and bruised man.

"Tell me Captain Webber, who was it you hired to aid in the exploration of the King of the Orinoco’s wreck?" The pirate captain asked, as the mercenary wearing the helmet turned to look out the window, before focusing back on the action.

"Someone better than you Andreas!" Webber snarled before spitting on the man he'd just named boot. Danika knew the name, most sailors and mercenaries did, Henri Andreas, a former resident of the land-locked nation Luxembourg was on Interpol's most wanted list for multiple accounts of piracy and mass murder. He was certainly a dangerous foe, one who was laughing at Webber's resistance.

"Fair enough Captain, from one sailor to another I respect your gumption. May you rest in peace." He sighed, before pulling the trigger, hundreds of rounds slashing through Webber, his body vaporizing in a thin mist of blood. "Call the men back, we are scuttling this ship by the hours end. Get the drones ready, I'll deal with the specialist myself, now move, we're on a schedule, anyone who falls behind will be left behind on a one way trip to the depths!!"

Skidding down the staircase, Danika heard the feet of the pirates above her and loaded the armour piercing rounds she’d taken off one of the dead men into the TAR-21 she’d policed off of one of Anders lieutenants and opened fire, the rounds boring through the floor above her, the sound of ricochets joined by screams of pain from the borders. Without hesitating Danika headed lower into the bowls of the ship into the engineering section, the engines inside had been stalled and the room itself had been abandoned save for the bodies of the dead crew and the spider like maintenance drones already attending to the matter of draining the corpses of all their fat and muscle.

“She went down here!” A voice called from the hallway, one that forced Danika to postpone lamenting the dead and instead hurried her into the salvage storage bay. The few times she’d been on ships like the Proteus before, this area had usually been full of salvage liberated from the wrecks of doomed vessels ready to be returned to their owners. Today however, there was nothing aboard, no cover save for the magnetic cradles used to store vehicles and other items prone to slipping about when the ship was tossed by the rolling waves. Checking her ammunition, Danika realised that this phased retreat wasn’t going to leave her with either the time or bullets to liberate the remaining crew tethered to the bomb in the rear salvage bay. Ducking into one of the cradles, she pulled out her knife and her remaining white phosphorus grenade and waited, her hands wrapping the pull trigger of the explosive round the blade of the driving knife.

“Next room is empty.” A voice with a native accent called as four men entered the room, three of them were locals, most likely hired from Haiti to act as guns for hire for Anders full time crew. Their poor state of dress and scavenged weapons were in sharp contrast to the fourth man dressed in urban camouflage and holding a state of the art assault rifle linked to the same headset Danika had taken from the man she’d lured outside.

“It’s empty when I say it’s empty.” The professional soldier replied in a South African accent. “Go back into engineering and cover the exits, I don’t want that little b***h flanking me from behind.” He added as the Haitian muscle returned to the next room. Cautiously the man walked to the first cradle, unaware that Danika was hiding inside the structure, knife poised ready to strike. Reaching the edge of the structure, the man had second to strike before his prey struck, the knife stabbing into his chest before he had a chance to let off a shot or shout a warning. Quietly Danika levered the man back towards the door and dropped the corpse thrrough into the other side before slamming the door shut, the knife clenched in her hand with the pin, minus the grenade, still wrapped around the blade.

As she did screams in French and Creole could be heard on the other side, followed by a sharp hissing sound and a muffled explosion as the bomb went off, dousing the men in the other side with a cloud of thick smoke that burnt the throats and eyes of the men trapped inside with their leaders body. Turning to the dropped rifle, Danika removed the ammo clip and counted twelve bullets contained inside. “This will have to do.”

Stalking over to the Danika activated the ‘Sync’ function on the helmet she was wearing and flicked through the feed from the three remaining active headsets until she linked with the one being worn by the soldier inside the room. Besides him there were at least twelve living members of crew and three Haitians, all patrolling the upper gantries of the storage bay as their boss locked the timer panel of the bomb with a key looped on a chain around his neck. Leaving the synced helmet stuck on the ‘active’ function, Danika placed it on the floor and knocked three times before slipping to one side. Seconds later a barked order could just be heard and one of the Haitians opened the door and looked round before starting to swear in Creole as the knife stabbed into his chest.

Darting into the room, Danika fired a single shot into another Haitian guard, the man caught midway between raising his rifle and firing so that, as he fell to the floor his gun fired a salvo of shots into the ceiling. The remaining two pirates were not caught as unaware, with the last Haitian firing a burst of panicky shots from the antique sub-machine gun he was armed with, his targeting vaulting over the side to avoid his wild shots. Turning he fired down into the pit, the hostages and the gunmen taking cover against the sides of the pit. “Stop it you fool!” The gunmen barked at the man on top in a Ukrainian accent, as he poked his head out. Seconds later a pair of shots sounded, followed by the thud of two bodies hitting the floor.

“Is every one okay?” Danika asked as she walked over to the dead gunmen and removed the key from his neck.

“They killed the rest of the crew.” One of the sailors replied as Danika unlocked the timer panel and turned the counter off. “And they took Captain Webber away to get information on you.”

“Webber is dead.” Danika sighed just as the helmet on the dead Ukrainian’s head buzzed. Walking over, Danika bent down and looked into the lens, before slotting it onto her own head. As she did she saw Andreas standing on the deck, his wide barrelled rifle slung over his shoulders as some of his men worked in the background.

“Can you hear me?” Andreas asked. “See these,” he hissed as he pulled a tarp off one of the flying wing drones Danika had encountered on the wreck of the King of the Orinoco, “you may have disarmed my scuttling charges but as soon as I toss these over the side, this ship and everyone else on-board.” Not even bothering to reply Danika picked up the dead gunmen’s assault rifle and sidearm.

“Does anyone have firearms experience?” Danika asked, to be greeted by a show of hands. “Okay take what you can find and head to the panic room. Don’t come out until you hear the fire alarm, when you come out, come out armed and head for the deck, I’ll meet you there.” She added, as she removed the ammo-clip out of the weapon she had taken from the dead mercenary and counted the remaining shots, before slotting it back in, and heading towards the deck. After a few minutes she arrived up there and peeked out of an ajar door to count how many guards Andreas had with him. Besides the pirate captain there were at least two of his own crew and about six Haitian’s he had hired as disposable muscle.

Gritting her teeth, Danika kicked the door open and fired a few shots at Andreas and the mercenary nearest to him, the later taking the shots as the pirate captain spun round and fired back at her, the multiple barrels chewing holes in the ship structure as Danika leapt out the way. Cursing and spitting, he lowered his weapon and ran his hands along the trackpad attached to his weapon, just as Danika recovered from her dodge and sprinted towards one of the drones sitting on a hard-case. She reached cover just in time, as Andreas fired, the shots whizzing over her head. Seeking an opening Danika popped out from behind cover only for a pair of Haitians to open fire on her, forcing her back behind the case.

“Men get ready, in a few seconds she won’t have anywhere to fire!” Andreas spat as he dragged his finger across the trackpad again, this time activating the lower barrels of his weapon to vaporise the cover Danika was hiding behind. Opening fire, Andreas watched as the case was blow apart only to see his target ready to open fire, Danika’s shots slashing into the wide flat micro-barrel array of his weapon and deforming it.

Throwing his weapon away in disgrace Andreas watched as Danika spun round and fired at the remaining mercenaries, the shots scattering them until her weapon clicked, the ammo spent. Dropping the weapon, Danika charged Andreas just as he unsheathed a large curved knife attached to his leg, his reactions fast as he stabbed his weapon into her shoulder. With a grunt he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her face first into the deck of the boat before dragging her over to one of the flying wing drones.

“Get the machines ready and get back to the boat!” Andreas yelled as he activated the drilling apparatus on the drone, the revolving hydraulic drill spinning up to speed within seconds. With a sneer he pushed the concussed woman towards the revolving blades, only for his victim to slam her fist into his groin, the blow staggering the pirate and forcing him to release her from his grasp. With a hiss like an angry viper Danika grabbed Andreas’s hand and slammed it into the drill, the machinery shredding flesh, muscle and bone until it got jammed in the drone’s inner workings. Getting to her feet Danika pulled the sidearm out of the Andreas’s holster and pushed the weapon against the injured man’s skull.

“Tell them to surrender.” Danika snarled.

“Never!” Andreas growled. “You won’t pull the trigger. Even if you do, you’ll be dead in seconds.”

“I don’t think so.” Danika replied, as the remaining mercenary and thugs advanced on Danika and their leader. “Leave, or get arrested alongside your leader.” She told the remaining men. “It’s your choice.” She added. Twitching slightly, the Haitian muscle looked at each other and threw down their weapons and headed for their boat leaving only one man of Andreas’s crew left on deck. Raising his rifle he kept the weapon trained on Danika in a deadly stalemate.

“Shoot her you idiot!” Andreas yelled, only for his man to lower his own weapon.

“You’ll let me go yes?” The man asked.

“Yes, if you drop your weapon.” Danika replied. Seconds later the man dropped his weapon and headed for the boat, only to spin around, his hand reaching for his sidearm. Rolling her eyes Danika fired, her shot taking the man down before he could open fire. “Now you stay here, I have questions for you, like who hired you and what were you doing here.”

The Ledger of Destiny has been recording human history since the dawn of time

So imagine what would happen if such a thing was under the control of a demon?

The Wishing Demon does, and he’ll stop at nothing to get his hands on it!

Mountain Top Cave, Bhutan

The figure dressed in silver samurai armour sat in the crystal lined cave as the tall Chinese man dressed in a green tunic and blue trousers brought a silver tray and a teapot and two cups from the nearby desk of stone. Bowing, each of the two men took a cup and poured tea into each-others cup, before both taking a long sip.

“I know why you have come to my refuge Demon, and you will find that I, like my predecessor will not fulfil your request, no matter how noble you mask your true intentions.” The Chinese man stated, as the demon in silver armour stole a glance towards the lectern carved from mammoth tusk and the massive leather tome sitting on-top of it.

“I still must ask Scribe, you know that neither the hands of a mortal nor an immortal can change the ledger, but one caught between, one such as you Xi LI, you can change the world with a single word.” The Demon hissed, as Li put down his cup and crossed his arms, a stern look spread across his face.

“And you know that it is my duty to ensure that such a thing doesn’t happen.” Li replied. “You have no power here, your wishes are no temptation to me, and your hand hasn’t enough strength to slay me. “I will tell you what I told the British, the Japanese, the Soviets and the Maoists, my answer is no.”

“There must be something you need, some little piece of luxury you required?” The Demon asked, just as a trio of house sparrows flew into the cave and landed on Li’s shoulders, their chirping song filling the air.

“I need no comfort, the knowledge that my duty serves to keep Earth in balance is all I require.” Li replied, as he held out his hand so a sparrow could hop down onto his palm. “Still…”

“Yes?”

“Still I must thank you for the conversation.” Li answered, his words causing anger to twist the face behind the demon’s mask into an even more hideous grimace. “But I must ask that once you’ve finished your tea that you leave.”

“Have a care Scribe!!” The Demon snarled, his courteous silver tongue replaced with one of pure malice. “Should I leave here without control of the ledger then you and I will be at war!!”

“Then we are at war.” Li answered calmly. “You aren’t the first to threaten me, and I’m certain you won’t be the last.” His words causing the demon to hiss and spit for a few seconds before he bowed in a mockery of a courteous gesture.

“Until we meet again.” The demon snarled in a voice that was civil but dripping with undertones of malice. Then in a puff of blue smoke the figure vanished leaving Li alone in the cave. Silently he walked over to the ledger, the sparrows that had been roosting on him flying out of the cavern leaving the scribe alone.

“This meeting has been recorded already, but then all matters regarding the Guardians of the Cornerstones of Reality are swiftly noted by the universe.” Li mumbled to himself as he looked down at the pages of the Ledger, the entries scrawled in a dead language across the page. “And for the matter to regard two of the guardians, I have never seen any such thing before on any page.” He sighed, as he walked to the mouth of the cave and looked out over the mountains of Bhutan and smiled as the early morning sunlight warmed him, before a serious look returned to his features and he walked back inside.

**

Dragon Casino, Macau

The lean oriental man dressed in a grey business suit placed the last knife in a row in front of the bound young man dressed in jeans and a ripped t-shirt, his face sneering with the same look of the moray eel tattooed round his left eye.

“You came here and lost Lou-Fan.” The tattooed man hissed, as he went to the end of the row of tools and blades before picking up what looked like a punch press strapped to the top of a mini guillotine handle. “I very politely asked your father to pay what you owed me and have heard nothing. Perhaps the senator will be more forthcoming with the riches once he’s had a little reminder of what I hold.” He added as he slipped the device round the knuckle of the young man’s index finger.

“Please my father will pay you!” The young man spluttered, his words echoed as a knock on the door sounded. Giving the two massive guards flanking the entrance a nod, the torturer removed a cloth from under the desk and placed it over his torture kits as the door opened, and a woman with cropped blonde hair dressed in olive cotton trousers and a tank top walked in.

“Mr Dragon-Eel, this woman says she’s here to escort Mr Travers out of the building back to America.” One of the guards mumbled.

“Not without his debts being payed Miss…” The Dragon-Eel stated as the young woman slowly removed a mobile phone from her pocket and showed it to the guards.

“Valentine, Sarah Valentine.” The woman purred in a New York accent before opening an app. “The Senator transferred the agreed amount into my account in five parts over the week from his various holdings. All I need is your account details and you have the equivalent of 1.2 million dollars sitting in your coffers.” She added before slipping the phone over to the Dragon-Eel, before turning to glower at the younger Travers, before turning back to the triad boss. “I will need his passport as well.”

“Of course Miss Valentine.” The Dragon-Eel replied with a half smirk as he gestured for one of his men to walk over to the chest at the back of the room. “I am curious about you however, do you work for the Senator or are you a hired hand?” He asked as he handed the phone back to Valentine.

“That is not your concern.” Valentine hissed as the guard handed her the passport before removing the device and restraints that his boss had placed on Travers. “By all means have a nice day.”

“You too Miss Valentine if that is your real name.” The Dragon-Eel announced with a smirk as Valentine lead Travers out the door. Calmly picking up the phone on his desk, the triad boss dialled a number and whispered into the hand-set before putting it back down, a wicked grimace on his face.

**

“So my father hired you to negotiate my release?” Travers yammered, as he and Valentine stepped into the lift, the mercenary jabbing the ground floor button with one of her fingers.

“No he didn’t.” Valentine replied as the life descended, the glass walls showing nothing but darkness until it descended into the gaming hall, every slot machine already occupied as hundreds of tourists and residents tested their luck against the rigged system of the casino. Reaching the fifth floor the life came to a halt and the doors slid open before the lights on the illuminated buttons went out. “Stick close and do what I say.” Valentine ordered as three men in suits stood outside the door, their hands on their holsters.

“Miss Valentine, or should I call you Miss Sedova.” A new Russian accented voice stated as a heavy-set man with long greasy hair dressed in a leather jacket and pants walked into view. “Send the boy back to the lift, the Dragon-Eel wants him back upstairs.”

“So it’s an extra pay-day then Yuri.” Valentine stated, her accent slipping from the New York style speech into a hybrid mix of Ukrainian and Californian. “I’m not surprised.” She added as she removed her phone from one of her pockets. “I’m a little surprised to see you, I thought you’d been buried alive in Nepal.”

“Drop the phone” One of the guards ordered, his voice causing Yuri to glower at him.

“No you idi…” His words were blocked out as the phone hit the floor, a high pitched screech emitting from it that forced the heavies to grasp their stomachs in pain, with more than one of them throwing up. Looking over to Sedova, Yuri watched as she slipped the buckle off her belt and throw it directly at his forehead, the projectile shocking him as it struck him.

“Come on!” Danika yelled, as she recovered the Sentry Stun Gun and stabbed it into one of the few guards still on his feet. Turning she grabbed Travers and sprinted towards the front of the casino, the aisles next to the slot machines in chaos as they spat out their entire supply of change, the gamblers and even some of the security guards scooping up everything that could get their hands on before the Dragon-Eel could regain control.

“The stairs are back there!!” Travers yelled as Danika came to a stop above the pool that sat on a fake rock face in the lobby five floors below them. Watching his eyes went wide as Danika removed a micro repelling harness and cable and piton from the inside of her belt and hammered the spike into the rock. “No please no!!” Travers yelled as his rescuer clipped herself onto the piton and leapt off the side, the fall terminated as they dropped three floors in a second. “Wait you don’t understand there are…” His words were drowned out as Danika unclipped the harness and the fair plummeted into the pool with a splosh.

“Activate Charge for Pool Party.” Danika gulped as she breached the surface, her hand clamped around Travers’s wrist. Seconds later the glass of the pool front cracked and the pair of escapees were thrown out as the water pressure did the rest, flooding the lobby leaving dirty puddles not to mention a few giant freshwater eels across the marble floor. Sprinting outside Danika pulled Travers into a waiting TV repair van and slammed the door behind them the driver pulling off with a fair bit of tyre spin.

“Who are you?!” Travers spat as he shook himself.

“The person your father hired to deal with your predicament.” Danika replied as she handed Travers his passport. “Just be glad he chose me.”

“Why?” Travers asked cautiously.

“Because there are plenty of mercenaries who are far nastier then me.” Danika replied as she laid back in the van, a slight look of sadness on her face.

**

Falstaff, Arizona

The plump Hispanic man dressed in jeans and a ripped t-shirt ran screaming into the church before slamming the doors closed behind him and placing a bar across the door, effectively barricading himself inside the abandoned 'house of god' alone in the dark, save the occasional flash of light as a car drove past. Drawing his pistol he heard a powerful knocking and scurried behind the alter preying that the block of wood would hold long enough for him to find a way out. With a snap the block cracked and the doors were flung open as a well-built man dressed in leather and carrying a five foot sledge hammer in one hand and his own pistol in the other stalked in. "Juan Caeso I know you're in here boy." The hammer wielder bellowed in a Texan accent. "Where are you, ya filthy little car jacker, you and I have a bounty to settle. One that’s long overdue.”

Taking a deep breath Juan emerged from behind the pews and fired a shot, only for the shot to miss and cause the larger man to chuckle as he fired back, the shot slashing through his targets leg, sending him crashing to the floor. “Now last time that Patron Saint of Crime interrupted, but I know for a fact that she ain’t going to interfere this time.” He added, as he raised his hammer and slammed it down onto the car-jacker’s face, the bones cracking as blood came spurting out of his ears.

“Very brutal, I like it.” A hissing voice announced causing the big man to spin round to see a figure dressed in silver and blue armour leaning against the door. “Kenneth Zimmerman right, I wonder would you be open to a job opportunity.”

“Depends on how much you plan to pay me boy.” Zimmerman snorted as he kicked Caseo’s body to make sure he was dead.

“Whatever you want, and I don’t just mean money, once the job is complete I will be able to give you anything you desire.” The man hissed, as Zimmerman raised his pistol and fired a shot at the man, the round bursting into fire as it impacted with the armour plating.

“I’m willing to take some things on faith, I mean I’ve seen cat gods, owl priests and the undead in the last few years, but I ain’t willing to work with something I don’t understand.” Zimmerman growled as he holstered his weapon. “Not for no money.”

“Oh I can organise travel expenses as well as anything else you would need. I can handle the logistics all I need you to do is kill a man on the other side of the world for me.” The man purred as he expended his hand in a mockery of friendship. “If you succeed then you will be the most powerful man in the world.” He purred as Zimmerman put his weapons down and cautiously walked over.

“Prove it and then I’ll consider.” Zimmerman snarled.

“Very well, tell me have you ever been to Tanzania before?” The man purred as he placed a hand on Zimmerman’s shoulder, the pair of them vanishing in a puff of thick blue smoke.

The action shifts to Tanzania as Danika and her new assistant go on the hunt for Zanzibar’s deadliest acid bomber

Little does she know that unseen forces are conspiring to lead her to a far more rewarding job

Meanwhile the Wishing Demon and his human associate Zimmerman retrieve a deadly artefact from the cave of the First Scribe

Zanzibar City, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Jonathan watched as Danika arranged transport to the hotel on the taxi lot outside Zanzibar International Airport. On the plane he had formed an opinion about his rescuer, he found Danika very distant and that she was carrying some-kind of sadness, one that he wasn’t willing to prise into. On the plane she had mentioned something about hunting a terrorist in the streets of Zanzibar, one who had been attacking Western tourists. After what seemed like an age, Danika found a taxi driver willing to take both of them to the hotel that had been set aside for the assorted mercenaries and hunters that had descended on the island to hunt for their illusive prey.

“So what do we do when we find this terrorist?” Jonathan asked as the cab headed towards the historical part of the city.

“She is illusive, the local government has a hotline regarding her. Once we’ve detained her we call it, the police take her and we get the bounty and leave.” Danika replied as she removed a tablet from her bag and pulled up a profile photo of a dark skinned woman wearing a pair of overalls and a pair of dark glasses over her eyes. “The government have called her ‘the Rinkhals’ after a particular nasty species of spitting cobra.” She added as she looked out of the window at the nearly abandoned streets. “Are we stopping? We’re not at the hotel yet?” She asked as the cab came to a stop.

“There is an obstruction.” The driver stated as two men wearing wide brimmed hats, cotton trousers and hunting jackets, their faces covered with bandanas walked up to the driver’s door, their hands wrapped round a pair of pistols.

“Toll please!” One of the bandits asked, as the driver wound the window down. “Since we’re here saving your city I think we deserve a little something for staying in this dump. You can refuse of course, but you might not like the consequences if you do.” He added, as Danika slipped out of the car, her exit drawing the gunmen’s attention. “Lady get back in the car or we’ll have to take a little extra toll money from you as well.”

“David and Ryan Hunter, I’m surprised you don’t know me from my reputation.” Danika sighed as the man turned his weapon on her. “We are guests here in this country, you shouldn’t be stealing the livelihood of the people who work and live here.”

“Sedova, we can recognise you from your bleeding heart!” One of the gunmen hissed as he lowered his weapon. As he did Danika delivered a snap kick to the man’s face, the blow cracking his nose. Reacting quickly, his brother went to smack her in the neck with the butt of his gun, only for his target to grab him by the arm and break it, before slamming him into the hood of the car.

“And now you can recognise me by the bruises I just gave you.” Danika replied, as she opened the back door. “Jonathan grab the bags out of the boot,” she stated as she removed a wad of cash from her bag and handed it to the driver. “This should cover our journey and a trip to the hospital.” She added, as she shouldered the bag Jonathan had removed out of the car before heading towards the interior of Stone Town. “Stick close to me Jonathan, this town is crawling with mercenaries and bounty hunters with less than honest motives.”

“Would they openly target us?” Jonathan asked as the cab-driver helped the Hunter brothers into the back of his taxi.

“Most wouldn’t, but on a big job like this one there would be a few who would try and reduce the competition.” Danika told him as a team of mechanics walked out of a nearby garage, followed by a man dressed in leather trousers and a bulletproof vest, a sledge hammer resting over his shoulder. “Of course there is always those you have a personal relationship against such as Zimmerman.” She added, as the man ran his hand over the bonnet of the jeep. “Head up to the hotel, I will meet you up there, she added as she walked over to the parked Jeep, her hands resting on the sidearm holstered on her hip. She got within fifteen meters before Zimmerman turned round, a stub nosed revolver pointed at her head, the cruel barrel overshadowed in wickedness by the smile on the big Texan’s face.

“Well looks like there’s all kind of vermin out here in Africa.” Zimmerman sneered as Danika removed her hand from her pistol. “Smart move Danni, I don’t want to have to get into a fire-fight right outside the hotel.”

“Neither do I.” Danika replied. “I’d much prefer to slip a blade between your ribs for what you did!” She hissed, malice dripping like venom from her words. “But out of professional courtesy and respect for our client I’ll refrain from doing that!”

“Your client is different to my client. I ain’t here to chase some backwoods bottle smasher.” Zimmerman replied, the revolver still trained on his former partner’s head. “And out of professional courtesy, not to mention respect for my client I ain’t telling you no more than that.” He added as the Wishing Demon stepped out of the car rental agency, a few blue sparks running up and down his arms and the sword holstered across his shoulders. “Now excuse me, we have to leave.” Zimmerman sneered as the local porters closed the back of the vehicle up and handed the big man a set of keys and a bundle of well-worn maps. Lowering his gun, Zimmerman climbed into the cab and started the engine, whilst the Wishing Demon shot Danika a look before skulking away towards the passenger seat.

“Who was that?” The Demon asked his partner as he closed the door.

“Former friend of mine, we had a falling out over a business mater.” Zimmerman replied as he checked to see where Danika was in the rear view mirror, before throwing the vehicle into reverse straight towards her, his target leaping out the way just in time, dust staining her clothes and skin. “She won’t be a problem, she’s occupied by some local matters by the sounds of it.”

“If that is what you believe then I will trust your judgment.” The Wishing Demon stated as Danika stood up and threw a stone picked up from the roar at the car, the projectile bouncing off the back window. The first missile was joined by three more, the first one striking the roof, whilst the second went long and low, bouncing off the bottom of the vehicle as Zimmerman threw the car into first and drove away.

The last fell short and Zimmerman wound down the window and sneered back at Danika, only for a fifth stone to come flying at him, the master mercenary getting inside just in time, with the rock smashing the driver’s side door mirror instead.

“You were saying?” The Demon purred, a look of amusement hidden on his face under the mask he wore.

“No more than that at least!!” Zimmerman growled as he drove towards the bridge off of Zanzibar and out towards their destination in the country.

**

Danika was in a terrible mood as the pair of them walked through the market, her eyes glowering as she went from stall to stall. As he’d waited for her at the hotel Jonathan had googled Zimmerman and found a long list of captures that the bounty hunter had brought in not to mention a few mentions of teaming up with Danika, whatever had gone down between them hadn’t been revealed but he assumed that it was something unpleasant. Walking past a stall full of knock of mobile phones, his gaze gravitated to a cheap model and pulled out a handful of shillings and handed them to the vendor.

“What are you doing?” Danika called as she glowered at him.

“Blending in and getting a few things I need.” Jonathan replied as he took the change from the vendor before having the phone taken from him.

“Not now.” Danika replied as the vendor removed a handgun from behind the stall and opened fire, the acid filled pellets spraying across the street causing the master mercenary and her assistant to hit the deck as their attacker, vaulted over the stall and got ready to deliver an execution strike. Reacting quickly, Danika swung her feet upwards and pulled the assassin down onto the floor, before struggling to her feet. “Speed Dial Eight!” Danika ordered as she kicked her bag towards Jonathan. “Hurry!” She added, as Rinkhals removed a stave strapped to the leg of her overalls and swiped at her opponent, as both women got to their feet.

“I’ll be seeing you.” Rinkhals hissed as she took a stab at Danika, the thick head of the weapon exploding as her target parried the blow sending the strike into the store, the wood and plastic of the stall bubbling as the materials were eaten away by the acid.

“I don’t think so.” Danika snarled as he landed a kick into the assassin’s chest, the blow staggering her.

“I agree,” A voice replied as a hail of mercy bullets streaked across the street, several of the rounds striking Danika with enough force to leave a series of welts across her body. Shooting her a look and then glowering up at the mystery shooter, Rinkhals bolted heading deeper into the old city. Groaning Danika turned to Jonathan to see him typing a number into her phone.

“No!” Danika snarled, as she snatched the phone from him.

“I don’t know why you are so concerned!!” Jonathan snapped, “I want to go home, I don’t want to be shanghaied by some Russian b***h!! I want to see my family, I don’t want to work with you, I want to go home!”

“You can’t go home!” Danika snarled. “Your father wanted you killed, he didn’t want me to rescue you he wanted me to execute you. You call him up and he will send someone to do the job I wouldn’t do!”

“I don’t believe you!” Jonathan hissed.

“I can prove it.” Danika told him as she dialled the number he had inputted, the phone ringing once, twice before the person on the other end picked up. “Senator Ian Travers,” Danika asked in the New-York accent she had used in the Dragon Casino back in Macau, “it’s done.” She continued as she tapped the speakerphone on.

“Where did you leave him?” The man on the other end asked.

“You don’t want to know, let’s just say he’s six-foot under and will never see the light again.” Danika told him. “I’d like the other half of the money you promised for completing the contract.”

“It will be sent to you Miss Valentine, now don’t call me again, I have no desire to be connected to common assassins such as you.” The man replied before switching the phone off. Turning to look at Jonathan, Danika saw a look of horror and disgust on her assistant’s face. “I don’t think we need to stay here any longer then we have to.”

**

Storyteller Cave, 8km North of Tanga City, Tanzania

The Tanzanian dig team at the site known locally as ‘Storyteller’s Cave’ stopped their excavations as a 4x4 vehicle pulled up at the edge of the main excavation pit and two men exited the vehicle. The leader of the excavation walked over to meet them, and while the man dressed in leather was intimidating, the man in the samurai armour was worse on some base level, he exuded power and hatred in equal amounts.

“Nice dirt pit you have here.” Zimmerman mused as he looked at the partially excavated skeletons that the dig team were working on.

“This site is closed, you shouldn’t be here.” The excavation leader replied. “These bodies are a find of national importance.” He added, as the Wishing Demon drew his sword, the gesture silencing the man.

“What happened here was a tragedy.” The Wishing Demon stated. “Do you know what happened here?” He asked the man before him. “Do you wish you could?” He added the, excavation leader nodding, his gesture causing a wicked smile to form on the demon’s face. With a chant of some guttural language he sunk his blade into the earth, fingers of energy surging through the earth, clutching each member of the excavation team and seemingly vapouring them.

“With a light show like that why do you need me hoss?” Zimmerman asked as the Wishing Demon headed into the pit towards the entrance of Storyteller’s Cave.

“Because what I want is effected by no power other than its own.” The Wishing Demon answered as the pair of men stepped into the cave past countless imaged painted on the walls. Stopping at one, the Wishing Demon smiled. “Does he look familiar?” He asked Zimmerman, the big man peering at the image of a man dressed in modern clothes being hacked apart by a figure dressed like an ancient Egyptian. “They wanted to know about the remains unaware that they were their own.” He stated, as he placed his hand on part of the wall. “The Ledger that I seek was created here and moved by the second of thirteen.”

“Right, so you want me to kill this man.” Zimmerman asked.

“No he’s dead, the latest man to guard the ledger is another story. To be honest you couldn’t achieve victory against him even at his weakest.” The Wishing Demon hissed, as he stabbed his blade into the rock face, the stone wall shuddering under the demonic energy pouring into the structure. “But there is a way to defeat him, twelve ways in-fact.” He added, as the rock face crumbled to reveal twelve weapons, ranging from axes and daggers to antique pistols and rifles, suspended in an energy field. “Each weapon has killed one of these ‘scribes’, their prowess and that of any wielder are heightened to the level of our target.”

“Hmm.” Zimmerman grumbled as he removed a massive Visigoth war-hammer from the energy field, his touch causing all the other weapons to blink out of reality. With a roar he turned and slammed the weapon into the cave floor, the blow causing the earth to shake. With another growl, he slammed his fist into the wall of the cave, the stone cracking on contact.

“Satisfied?” The Demon asked as Zimmerman slotted his new weapon next to his original hammer.

“Where to next hoss?” Zimmerman asked.

“The Kingdom of Bhutan and our destiny.” The Wishing Demon hissed, malice radiating off of his voice as the pair of them headed out of the cave.

“Good evening, I am Eloise Cheese for Impurest Edition, the hardest hitting investigative show in the UK. Tonight, we have an expose on the reality crime show Danika Sedova: Bounty Hunter Babe. The flimsy premise, poorly shot, doco-reality show that sends a supermodel after low level criminals with a team miscreants!

Images of the opening credits of the show roll. The leggy platinum blonde rolls over a car bonnet, followed by her slamming a suspect into a chain link fence, Danika firing shots at a target, some cars racing shot in the style of a Mikael Bey film, followed by a headshot of the stunning supermodel looking over her aviators and winking as the credits hit the screen.

“This show is borderline for what passes for entertainment, with only Stefan Saygull, the 90’s quasi martial arts movie star, being a worse program. But I digress, I’m not here tonight to eviscerate a TV show that North Korea uses to torture its citizens, but to show what happened to cause an international incident! Roll the footage!”

The grainy Pro-Go film showed Danika Sedova sitting at a poorly lit table, possibly in a warehouse. Next to her was Brian "The Hook" Baldwin, and beside him Maurice Cartier. She sat elbows on the table, fists scrunched awkwardly into her nose and mouth.

“This won’t be a team; it’ll just be me.” Danika muttered.

“Danika, I know you’re angry b…”

“They’ve raised a bounty, Tabby,” Danika starred straight into the camera. “I’m a bounty hunter. It also helps that this arrogant warmonger has invaded my homeland! Putin gets a bullet.”

“I can get us in,” Brian said tapping the papers in the centre of the table.

“I can get us out…well I think I can,” Maurice shrugged. “But it won’t be pretty.”

“I can probably cobble up something cool because he’s bound to have a super powered Cossack in his entourage.”

“Excellent,” Danika stood up. “Let’s go kill Putin.”

The bounty hunter walks off and the image freezes in an odd sideways blur.

“For those of you unfamiliar with global events, Russia invaded the Ukraine in 2014 taking large chunks of Crimea in a blatant ruse and then in February 2022, he launched a full military assault in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions under a paper-thin disguise of peace keeping, even making an attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Despite superior numbers and technology, the Ukrainians have held out clinging to life and territory like pitbulls! This situation could’ve gone on for potentially two years.

Ukrainian by birth, Danika Sedova, took it upon herself to assassinate the Russian head of state Vladimir Putin. Fans of the show will know I’m not Putin’s friend, but I don’t want him dead either. Roll the tape.”

Soundless lime green head-cam footage of a plane door, two slender black gloved hands holding the open door frame. The footage rolls like a washing machine into blackness with several pinholes of light appearing into view. The footage corrects shortly after several spins, and it shows the ground rushing up.

“This is where Danika illegally entered Russia via a HALO or High-Altitude Low Opening maneuver. Though the night vision is hard to see you can make out the Moskva River and Red Square. She landed in Zaryaydye Park just east of the Kremlin”

Next is jumpy vision, possibly running, as the camera operator heads towards Red Square. Several people are seen in passing, several untranslated and/or muffled Russian phrases are said. The footage is quite boring but intense as the POV of a stroll through Moscow at 2 am continues.

“The building ahead is Novo-Ogaryevo, Putin’s official residence since 2000. Now, I must warn you that several people die in the next few minutes. There is gunfire, knife play, even an explosion. We’ll go to commercial to allow YOU to think about it and for our sponsors to ply you with ads.”

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“Welcome back, I’m Eloise Cheese and this is Impurest Edition. What you’re about to see is several people being murdered in cold blood. Viewer discretion is advised.”

A muzzle flash lights up the night vision as a man falls against a wall leaving a dark wet stain as he slides down. Another man is stabbed in the back of the skull with a shiny blade that catches the light. The footage plays out almost like a computer game walk through. Then explosions erupt around the camera as bullets make sparks around her. Fire is returned and the film can’t keep up with the action. It’s rough and jumpy and when it suddenly clears, Vladimir Putin is looking up from a kneeling position looking into camera, nose gushing blood.

“Now we apologize, as we have managed to translate most of what is said but there could be some errors since very few people on the Impurest Edition staff speak Russian, but we made do.”

A hand streaks out and slaps the Russian President in the face.

{What do you have to (garbled)?}

{Who are you?}

SLAP! {Why should I let you live? Why shouldn’t I end your (garbled) the war?”

{Ukraine is Russian, we take what is ours!}

SLAP {You’re a sick dog that (garbled)

{Russia will never b…}

SLAP {Enough! Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of Russia, and all round (garbled) I sentence you to a face to face meeting with the mayor of Kyiv, the man who paid most my bounty, Vitali Klitschko. He’s a professional boxer and he’ll be really glad to see (garbled). This is a beacon teleporter. It’ll send you to wherever the other beacon is. I wanted it set to Iron Bottom Sound in the Solomon Islands or somewhere on the moon, but my team couldn’t get (garbled). So, Kyiv it was. Have a nice time being beaten to death by a very large, very angry Ukrainian. Dasvidaniya!}

“And you know the rest. Mayor Klitschko beat Putin to death with his bare hands yesterday when the Russian President dropped onto the steps of Gorodetsky House. Russia ceased its activities in Ukraine, pulling out just before Ukraine formally signed with NATO. Newly appointment Russian President Sergei Ivanov has engaged in peace talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but he has also issued a huge bounty upon the head of Danika Sedova who has gone on the run, not surprisingly.

Am I happy Putin’s dead, no. Am I happy the Ukraine war is over, yes. But will this lead to more trouble? What happens next when say the US invades a country will this stunningly angry woman take blood money from a cadre of republicans to off President Colleen Petra? My money that while this has won a war, it’s created a whole new battle. I’m Eloise Cheese, good night”

Danika Sedova: Bounty Hunter Babe faces her most reclusive quarry to date; a wicked force that works from the shadows preying on the weak and helpless. Will she bring this mysterious menace to justice? Or is this one foe too devious for even her skills to capture?

Monterey, California

The refrigerated warehouse was quiet as the woman dressed in a black jumpsuit with a matte black bandolier slung over her shoulder slinked up to the perimeter wall topped with razor wire. Removing a knife from her belt, the woman edged along the wall to where the security camera aimed at the locked gate was positioned. Reaching up she cut the sheath of the wire of the camera, before taking a clip from the bandolier slung over her shoulder and snapping it onto the cable.

“Taking control of the cameras in 3...2…1, we have eyes.” A voice whispered over the earpiece the woman was working. “Setting record transfer pattern and stage is set ready for action.” She added as the woman walked over to the gate and removed a hand crossbow loaded with a blunt wide headed bolt.

“Is the target inside?” The woman asked as she lined up a shot on the big security light on the edge of the factory. Taking her shot, the bolt smashed through the lens and bulb, plunging the yard into darkness.

“It’s there, one car transporter loaded with four of the SandCat’s stolen from the Mexican Army.” The advisor announced as the woman holstered the crossbow and began to climb up the gate, vaulting over the razor wire before landing on the other side. “Be careful Danika, there are multiple Myrmidons on site, all of them armed, all of them fuelled up.”

Nodding and removing a silenced pistol, Danika headed across the yard towards a pair of trucks, the backs down almost as if they were ready to be loaded. Skirting between them Danika stopped as a figure pushing s cart loaded with two-gun metal grey reinforced crates. The figure wore a black boiler suit accented with a red chevron over the stomach, a fuel tank on his back that led up to a breather mask, and attached goggles. Flattening herself against the truck, Danika heard the figure head into the truck, before attempting to sneak past him, only for the door of the warehouse to swing open and a second figure to emerge pushing a similar cart.

The reaction of both figures was immediate, with Danika opening fire with her pistol, the mercy rounds bludgeoning the figure into submission, as they pulled their own weapon to bare. The crack of gunshots drew the figure in the truck’s attention and they added a staccato blast from their assault rifle joining the cacophony, forcing Danika to drop behind the cart from the second guard. As the blast of gunshots died down, a screech sounded from the truck as the guard ran towards Danika, his finger still thumbing the trigger to no avail. Raising up from behind her cover Danika vaulted over the cart and landed a blow to the man’s chest, before performing a leg sweep and knocking him to the ground.

“Status on the rest of the hive?” Danika whispered as she removed the mask of the man to reveal acid-burnt skin around the mouth and half-melted teeth.

“Unaware, the Myrmidons are not the smartest mercenaries around.” The advisor told Danika, as she turned and opened the cases being wheeled out to reveal anti-tank launchers and heavy machine guns. “But then they are all addicted to ‘Aroma’, to the point where they are constantly inhaling the raw uncut form.”

“Aroma needs cold temperatures to remain as a liquid, is it possible that this is a synthesis lab in addition to a stockpile for their stolen goods?” Danika asked as the doors opened, causing her to bolt into the shadows as another Myrmidon exited the warehouse, passing their unconscious hive members. Sneaking inside, Danika ducked into a staircase, heading up onto the gantry that ran around the warehouse, the four SandCat armoured cars parked in the centre of the structure.

Sneaking towards the site office, Danika slipped inside the room where two women lay, completely passed out, drooling an acidic saliva down their cheeks. Stepping over the addicts, Danika pushed the chair out the way and turned the computer on, slotting a USB key into the drive slot.

“Blackroot infestation spreading out, all the files are being submitted to the remote drive.” The advisor whispered, as Danika watched a charging bar crawl across the screen. “Once it’s complete we can head on out.”

“I want the lab dismantled before I leave,” Danika whispered as removed a pair of collapsible stun batons from the bandolier as buzzing grunts sounded from outside the office. Edging towards the door, Danika got ready for an ambush as the door opened and a woman dressed in a guard’s jumpsuit with the same tank and breathing apparatus walked in, her hair brunt off the scalp by the acidic by-products of ‘Aroma’. Buzzing and grunting the woman turned out of the room leaving the door open behind her. Sighing slightly, Danika walked over and removed the USB key, and turned the computer off before heading back to the gantry.

“Where’s the lab?” Danika whispered as she slipped along close to the wall as two of the Myrmidons stood on the SandCat armored cars, buzzing at each other, seemingly engaged in an intense conversation.

“Refrigeration room, other end of the warehouse.” The advisor told her as a shutter opened beneath Danika and two more Myrmidons collapsed out of the room, choking and coughing as they spasmed on the floor. Their plight drew the attention of the Myrmidons on the SandCats, causing them to look up and scream drawing weapons and opening fire wildly, giving Danika the time to drop off the gantry to the ground, landing hard next to the now deceased guards. Out of ammunition, the Myrmidon’s dropped down and swung their weapons at her, their blows powerful but clumsy, allowing Danika to dance between them, stabbing them with her batons, electricity arching across them causing one of the attackers to convulse and drop to the floor. The remaining attacker landed a lucky hit on Danika, the blow causing the bounty hunter's stab to go wide and hit the fuel tank, sparks running through the apparatus, as the ‘Aroma’ ignited and shot up to the ventilator burning the skin of the Myrmidon.

Not that is mattered, the Myrmidon kept on striking even as her skin charcoalising until she was knocked out by a blow that sent her smashing into the side of one of the SandCats. As the Myrmidon went down the door to the yard swung open and another six Myrmidon’s entered, their numbers including the pair that Danika had previously knocked out, their guns swiveling as they looked for the intruder to their hive. Looking at the returning guards and then the room where the two dead guards had stumbled out of Danika ducked into the shuttered room and immediately began to wretch as she took a step inside, a thick black fog billowing from a broken canister. Staggering out, Danika collapsed next to the dead guards even as the Myrmidons advanced on her.

**

Danika opened her eyes blinking in the half-light as the stills pumped a thick pink liquid through tubes into the fuel canisters the Myrmidon’s wore while on duty. Struggling, Danika realized she was bound to a chair bolted to the ground and unable to move. Now awake she saw a pale-skinned woman dressed in a yellow jumpsuit, her face uncovered by the breathing apparatus the other Myrmidons wore, a mobile phone clamped in her hand.

“Yes, yes I understand.” The woman buzzed as she paced back and forth past the stills and the two Myrmidon guards that had their weapons aimed at the chair. “We had a minor leak; I’ve sent drones to clean up the mess. It wasn’t my fault we had a personnel problem.” She stopped and looked at Danika, horror, and anger etched on her features, “We…we will get it under control.” She gulped as she closed the phone and walked up to Danika, looming over her. “You have cost my operation thousands of dollars and hours of time we already didn’t have! Now, who are you?” The woman asked as she placed a dagger against Danika’s cheek.

“Please I am Sonia, a good girl from Russia, I look for Aroma.” Danika gulped, leaning on her accent to make her sell the lie. “Please I work for Aroma, you let me go.”

“An addict?” The woman asked as she slipped one of the ventilator’s off of the fuel tanks and brought it close to Danika’s face. “When I’m done with you, you certainly will be.” She continued as she clamped the mask onto Danika’s face. “Do you really think I’m an idiot, I’m Lady Invictia, I know that you are no addict.” She spat before turning to her Myrmidon’s. “Get her ready and make her presentable. And bring out another volunteer to test the next batch, our benefactor is not too happy about the discharge…” she stopped and turned to look at Danika, the young woman’s eyes flickering as the effects of the ‘Aroma’ took hold, “…and I don’t wish to risk their wrath again.”

**

Danika opened her eyes once again, groaning as she tried to sit up, the short red dress she was wearing shifting over her knees. Looking around she saw two tanks, their ventilators undeployed and ready for the Myrmidon’s who were addicted to them to start inhaling the mixture. While her hands were bound, Danika could still reach one of the ventilators and broke the locking mechanism, the acidic Aroma leaking onto the plastic cable ties and melting them away.

Getting to her feet Danika looked at the lab around her as the Myrmidon’s mixed a thick smoking black liquid from a tank marked Xiphos Biotechnology ETR-909 with the pink sugary syrup that was the main ingredient of the narcotic Aroma. While the Myrmidons were fixated on the lab work, Lady Invictia was pacing back and forth with a gas spectrometer clamped in her hand as she waited for the chemical to be completed. All parties seemed to be unaware of Danika being roused, even as she silently confiscated one of her pistols lying on the desk.

“Keep the pressure of the fume cupboards down.” Lady Invicta ordered as she turned to face her Myrmidons and the work, they were engrossed in. “The moment we hit the threshold we need to flood the chamber with refrigerant.” She continued, as the dial on the fume cupboard began to climb, the Myrmidon working on the synthesis reaching for a spigot with insulation around the pipe. Reaching out to twist the spigot, the Myrmidon recoiled as Danika opened fire, the rounds smashed through the glass of the fume cupboard, a sticky stinking smoke leaking out of the breach.

“You!!” Lady Invicta snapped seconds before the fume cupboard was ripped open, thick black smoke flooding out, swallowing up the Myrmidons, their skin erupting into burns and boils, the shockwave of the chemical reaction knocking Lady Invicta to the floor.

“Me.” Danika stated as she loomed over the prone chemist, “I wish you could remember this moment as much as I will.” Danika stated before taking one last shot, the body of Lady Invicta falling, blood pooling from her forehead. Not wasting any time, Danika bolted to the stairs up to the main warehouse, only for a figure to tackle her from behind.

“I plan to.” Lady Invicta hissed as she slammed Danika face first into the stairs. Struggling Danika threw the chemist back, before delivering a kick to her opponent's face, the blow causing Lady Invicta’s teeth to rattle, black smoke erupting from her mouth, and her eyes bleeding from the chemical exposure.

“What is this?” Danika asked as she began backing up the steps.

“It’s the death…death…of the Gods.” Lady Invictia coughed as he skin began to erupt into painful red blisters that began to harden. “The Universal…” the words were lost replaced by a buzzing shriek as she lunged towards Danika, only to be repulsed with a full clip of bullets unloaded into her. Not bothering to check on her, Danika dashed up into the warehouse, as the lab began to collapse, the remaining canisters of Aroma detonating into pink toxic clouds.

**

“And there we have it, the new reboot of Danika Sedova: Bounty Hunter Babe.” The tall pale-skinned man stated as he turned the screen off, before looking at the woman dressed in jeans and a tank top, her platinum blonde hair pulled into a loose ponytail who sat before him. “Far more edgy, far sexier, and a lot more dangerous than the last series that you were part of.”

“I’m sorry Mr Gere, I have to refuse the offer.” Danika stated as she got up from the chair she had been sitting in.

“Can I ask why?” Gere asked as he looked up at Danika, only to see her holding a pair of handcuffs in one hand, a small arm-mounted camera pointing at him.

“I don’t work with pedophiles,” Danika told him as Gere got ready to stand only for Danika to trip sending him crashing into the sofa in his office. “I’ve seen the footage; you really shouldn’t have perused this venture it gave me everything I needed to bring you to justice.” Danika purred as she stood over the man, even as he tried to get back to his feet.

“You think you can do this to me!” Gere roared seemingly unphased with the situation he was quickly falling into. “I’ll make sure you get deported you bitch! You’ll remember this when you are dying penniless in some despotic third-world country!”

“Oh, I plan to remember this moment as much as you,” Danika replied, before turning the camera to face her, blowing a kiss towards the lens.

Hadrien Gere was arrested for seven counts of indecent exposure with a minor thanks to the investigation by Danika Sedova and Tahlliana Entertainment. All information that led to his arrest was submitted to the FBI to assist with the pending trial. Please don’t emulate anything you have seen in this episode, Danika Sedova is a trained martial artist and investigator, as well as a licensed bounty hunter.

Please join us next week as Danika hunts down the so-called ‘Bow Hunter of El Paso’ in the shocking hunt for a serial cop killer.

Danni walks into the briefing room, and lets a half-inch thick folder slap the team's table. "I'm not happy," she snaps. "We almost had City Slicker. How did he manage to get away?"

"He just... slipped between our fingers," Maurice Cartier says with a grin.

She glowers. "Do I look like I'm in the mood to joke right now?"

"Boss, you were there," says Tabby. "He literally slipped between our fingers."

"Which tells me we didn't have the right tools for the job," Danny says tersely. "Why is that, Tabby?"

Tabby Taylor looked down at the table. "Our intel said he was weak to fire. We thought the flamethrowers would be enough."

"That clearly wasn't so," says Danni, "and now our only lead is to chase down his girlfriend. Oilbird has all the same powers. How do we catch her if we couldn't catch City Slicker?"

"We're taking a small tanker truck with us for containment this time," answers Brian Baldwin, briefly sliding the fishhook piercing his lip back-and-forth with his thumb and forefinger. "The small kind used for home heating oil deliveries."

"How do we get her into the tanker?" Danni asks, looking back to Tabby.

"Wet vac," Tabby answers. "Back-mounted- enough suction to pull a golfball through a garden hose. We'll all have one, and the four of them can hold her until we get her into the tanker."

Danny looked doubtful. "You want to split her into four different containers? Can we do that without killing her?"

"She's survived worse," says Brian. "It won't kill her, but it'll probably hurt like blue blazes. It will definitely keep her weak enough to get her into the truck without resistance."

"Fine," says Danni. "Maurice?"

Maurice shrugs, and grins confidently. "I'm driving the truck of course. Once she's in, we take her to the El Dorado Superhuman Containment Facility, and pump her into a holding tank."

Brian winced slightly, and looked to Danni. "The Golden Gulag, boss?"

"It's our best bet for holding her," says Maurice. "Back up plan is the nearest Spiffy Lube."

"Still not in the mood for that right now," says Danni. She snatches the folder off the table, and uses it to wave the three of them towards the door. "Let's get it done!"

***

There's a brief montage of sped-up shots showing the team packing their gear, and loading it into the back of a black SUV. Danni and Brian hop into the SUV, and Maurice and Tabby climb into the small tanker truck. The vehicles speed off from their base, and the camera cuts to them pulling up to an abandoned oil field. The camera slows to normal speed as the team piles out, and gathers at the back of the SUV.

***

As they unload the wet vacs, Brian asks, "We're supposed to find her here?"

Checking the straps of his wet vac, Maurice chuckles, somewhat nervous. "Yeah, Danni. This could be like trying to find Clouded Tiger in a fog bank."

Unzipping a duffel bag, and handing out a device to each of them, Tabby says, "That's why you'll have these. Unidirectional microphones. These are the kind spies would use to pick up conversations in the next building. Like Clouded Tiger, Oilbird still has a heartbeat, and she can't disguise that. If you pick up its sound, you signal, and the rest of us converge on her until we can use the vacs."

Brian unzipped another duffel bag, and pulled out more gear. "I recommend wearing these. Tyvek suits with built-in face shields."

"Are you nuts," balked Danni. "It's a hundred and twelve out here today."

Tabby was already pulling hers on. "You wanna get soaked again, like we did with City Slicker? I still haven't gotten all of him out of my hair yet."

"We're gonna roast in those things," Sedova said a bit perturbed.

About to pull the hood over his head, Maurice said, "Then boss, I guess we better do this quick."

Danni sighed, and pulled hers on too.

Pulling the wet vacs over their shoulders, and picking up their mics, they spread out about seven meters from each other, and started moving across the oil field.

"I feel like a Ghostbuster in this getup," said Maurice.

"Shut up and let the mics do their job," replied Danni.

Music played as the team walked the field in a grid pattern, the camera cutting about every ten seconds to another view, skipping ahead in their thus far fruitless search. Finally, cutting to Tabby's view, the volume bars jump on her microphone's electronic display. "I've got her. Next drilling rig in front of me."

The team converges on her position as they approach the well, and as they get about five meters from it, there's a sudden violent rumble, and oil explodes the full height of the derrick, spraying everything.

Tabby moves in first, flipping the switch on her vac, and the other three follow suit. Their suits covered in oil, they press in towards the Kelly, letting their equipment do its job until the oil stops flowing. They use a lower setting to get the oil off of their Tyvek suits, and then happily strip them off, sweating profusely.

"Never thought one-twelve would be a welcome change," said Danni.

"Do we need to vac up any of the oil that's on the ground?" asks Maurice.

Aiming her mic at each wet vac, Tabby says, "No, her heartbeat's in Brian's tank. She can lose oil the same way we shed skin. If there's not enough in the tanks, she can be given more to replenish her volume once she's at El Dorado."

***

There's another sped-up montage of the team unloading the contents of the vacs to the tanker truck, packing up the equipment, getting back in the vehicles, taking off, and making their way to El Dorado. The facility's personnel unload the tanker, the camera pans along some pipes, and then cuts inside where the oil fills up a large containment tube about halfway. Once the tube seals, Oilbird takes her human form, and the camera slows back to normal speed.

***

Danni takes the lead. "We need you tell us where City Slicker is, Oilbird."

"Oh, gif it up, luv. I ain't tellin' you nuffin'," she sneers.

"You will," Danni assures her, "because your other options are being reduced by a blast furnace, or being sectioned off into drums, and shipped out to various Spiffy Lubes."

Maurice glances sideways at Sedova, and she grins back. "I got that idea from you," she says with a wink.

"You woul'nt," Oilbird says, unsure.

Danni just looks at her with a blank expression.

***

The narrator talks over the credits, and says, "With the information obtained from Oilbird, the team was able to track down City Slicker, and apprehend him in the same manner. Both are currently incarcerated at the El Dorado Superhuman Containment Facility, awaiting trial."

The credits wrap up, and the camera cuts to a shot of Danni in the signature red dress she wears for the show's promotions. She's looking into the camera with a smile, and she winks, and blows a kiss to the audience.

**********