Matt nodded, having expected that. He pointed to various places on the map, “Air defense is going to be on the alert. They’re not as precise as ours, but the Chinese work with advanced iterations of older RADAR systems. Powerful, and effective… Normally I’d be against an air insertion, even stealth isn’t as effective as we might wish against Chinese systems, but you might be able to slip through. They won’t be designed to track the way you move.”

  Matt scowled, “I probably shouldn’t say this, but if you’d kept your speed under a couple hundred kph, we probably wouldn’t have noticed your approach either. You look like a small flock of birds on the screens.”

  “I honestly have no idea how to take that, Captain,” Alex said, bemused by the comparison.

  “Take it however you like,” Matt snorted, “just remember that if someone picks up anything moving at mach one, no matter how small, they’re likely to do a double take. Keep your airspeed slow on approach, come in a couple hundred feet off the deck. High enough to be hard to spot by eye, low enough to slip under the notice of the radar operators. You might just make it into the city unnoticed.”

  Alex nodded, “Sounds good.”

  He reached into his pocket, pulling out the secure satellite phone and flicked through the menu on the screen before passing it over to the Captain. “That’s my number. Contact me if anything changes, or if SOCOM ever gets around to telling you when my backup is arriving.”

  Matt nodded, “You got it. Are you planning on heading in now?”

  Alex checked the time, “I should. If I move fast, I can slip in just ahead of sunrise, maybe even use the sun to mask my final approach.”

  “Ensign!” Matt called a man in from just outside the door.

  “Yes Captain?”

  “Run, don’t walk, down to stores and get this man jeans, shirt, boots, socks, jacket, the works. Nothing connected to the ship or the United States. Clear?”

  “Clear, Sir.”

  “Back here in five minutes. Go!”

  The Ensign turned and ran.

  “You’re going to have to ditch the MARPAT,” Matt said with a shrug.

  Alex dropped his helmet on the table and nodded, “Should be fun.”

  “Marines, you lot never did learn that fun isn’t supposed to be life threatening.”

  “Says the man who routinely got his ass thrown off a boat by a frigging catapult.”

  “It’s a ship you Jarhead.”

  Alex just laughed.

  *****

  Hong Kong

  Li Shen huffed, dragging Qi as he worked his way up the stairs of the building he’d fled into. His mind felt like it was barely functional, all he could seem to do was crawl and drag Qi along, meter by meter, with a dogged refusal to either give up or leave her.

  She was breathing, he took some solace in that, but the head injury was bleeding profusely no matter what he did to stop it and she had picked up burns from…

  It.

  What was that, anyway?

  That was a rhetorical question, though he really wished it wasn’t.

  The dragon had burned in his blood, drawing on his rage at Qi’s fate. He could still feel the howl reverberating within him. Shen didn’t know where the beast had come from, he surely knew why it had come and had no doubt that it was deeply connected to himself.

  “Come on, Qi, please wake up,” He panted out as he dragged her another few meters, slowly up the stairs.

  After the dragon had passed, the Triads had regrouped. Whether they were brave, or merely stupid, Shen had no clue but somehow one of them had connected him with the dragon. Likely had seen it grow from him, the way Shen had felt it do so. He didn’t know for sure, but they’d started looking for him almost immediately.

  The buildings around them were burning, including the one Shen was dragging Qi through, which just made things all the more complicated of course.

  He’d made it up to the fourth-floor landing, risking a glance down the stairwell to see if they were being followed.

  So far, they had been lucky.

  Qi chose that moment to moan and shift slightly, causing him to catch his breath and lean over her.

  “Qi, wake up. Please, you must wake up!”

  Her eyelids fluttered, and he slumped in relief as he saw them open.

  “Shen?” She mumbled, “What happened?”

  “You were hit by concrete,” He told her, “and burned in the fire.”

  “What fire?”

  “I’ll explain later,” Shen said, pulling her up, “I’m sorry, but we must move. The Triads…”

  “Triads!” Qi’s eyes widened, shocked as she remembered. “So many of them!”

  “Yes, and they’re rather angry and looking for us,” Shen said, “We must move.”

  That was all it took to get her to follow along behind him, slowly and gingerly at first, but at least they were moving faster than when he’d been forced to drag her. The smell of smoke from the burning building was filtering through the air, but there was no smoke to be seen yet at least.

  “I smell smoke,” She said.

  “I know, we need to get to the other side of the building and get out,” Shen told her, “from there we should be able to escape.”

  Qi nodded silently, following as he led them through the halls, both of them ignoring the alarms that were blaring wildly around them.

  *****

  USS Ronald Reagan

  Alex felt underdressed, wearing some ill-fitting jeans, a t-shirt, and a windbreaker jacket that had the embossed logo of the Reagan torn off, leaving a ratty bunch of frayed material in its place. He fingered the damage with distaste, but figured he’d have to get new clothes in the city anyway.

  “Alright,” He said, nodding to the Captain. “I’ll be heading out. Keep me in the loop.”

  “Likewise,” Matt said sternly. “We’re sitting way too close to this situation for comfort. SOCOM likes to keep their secrets, and I understand that, but if it looks like we’re going to wind up in a shooting war with the Chinese, I’d appreciate a few minutes notice if you can swing it.”

  Alex grinned, “For you, Captain, I’ll give you at least an hour.”

  “Be still my beating heart.”

  The Captain’s dry tone brought a laugh to Alex as they stepped back out onto the open flight deck of the carrier. The night sky was definitely lightening, and he had no doubt that if he didn’t move soon he’d lose any cover of darkness he might yet enjoy.

  “I’ve got to be flying, Captain,” Alex said, shaking the man’s hand. “Thanks for the help. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Don’t suppose you want to use the Cat?” Matt asked, smirking.

  Alex laughed again, “Next time.”

  He turned away from the Captain and was momentarily taken aback by how many people were on the deck, eyes on him.

  Shouldn’t most of you be sleeping?

  Alex fit his ruby lens shooters glasses over his nose and lifted slowly into the air, drifting along the deck of the Carrier as all eyes were glued to him. He saluted neatly, far cleaner for the sailors than he’d bothered for the Lt Colonel, before twisting in mid-air and suddenly accelerating away at high speed.

  *****

  Matt Hallows watched the slightly bedraggled looking former Marine take off from his Carrier deck and shook his head.

  “That has got to be against all the laws of God and man,” He grumbled as he turned and made his way back into the Island, heading for the Command Deck.

  Considering how early it was in the morning, the place was buzzing beyond the norm when he arrived.

  “Any news?”

  “New scheduled arrival, SOCOM authorized,” The XO said, “meeting with us in two days, off the coast of Taipei.”

  “that’ll be the backup our friend is expecting,” Matt said, “Make sure the deck is ready to receive them.”

  “Aye sir. We’ve been informed to expect a special arrival, possibly at least.” David went on, sounding usually perky about whatever it was.

  “Oh?” Matt was instantly curious. David didn’t do perky.

  “Retrofitted U2.”

  Matt whistled. “I didn’t know they had anymore of those, let alone configured for carrier operations.”

  “Neither did I, I hope the pilots are good.” David responded, “pretty sure none of them have landed on a carrier deck since the sixies.”

  Matt nodded, “Make sure the recovery crews are ready, fire suppression too.”

  “Aye aye, Captain.”

  Chapter 3

  Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu Hawaii

  The Army C130 had barely rolled to a stop before the rear hatch was already lowering and the people on board dismounted with alacrity. They all had slung bags and no other baggage, only one appeared remotely pleased to be there, though the rest were less unhappy as they were concerned.

  “I swear the God, Verte, if you don’t calm down I’m going to bounce you off this tarmac.”

  The tall Cajun who went by the name Verte just grinned at the grizzled old man beside him, “Sarge, you’d do that anyway if you thought you could get away with it.”

  “You saying I can’t?” The older man countered with a sideways glare.

  The special forces man eyed the Master Sergeant carefully for a moment before relenting slightly, “No, Sarge, I sure ain’t saying that.”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  “Everyone just relax,” Lana said softly, but firmly, her voice carrying easily. “The Captain has gone and got himself in some trouble. We don’t need to be wasting our energy on each other.”

  “I can’t believe we’re stepping into the middle of this,” Rosie said, her expression grim. “We’re retired. This ain’t our concern.”

  “Cap is out there, he’s our concern.” Tea said firmly, though he nodded after a bit, “Not that I don’t understand. This shit is just too weird.”

  The SEAL flexed his hand, his skin changing color as he did so, but quickly relaxed and let it return to normal. “But I want to find out who did this to us, and this seems like the best way.”

  That was a sentiment the rest of them agreed on.

  Someone had done this thing to them, a thing they didn’t understand… and, while it certainly had some advantages, no one had the right to mess with their bodies without permission… and that was something that not one of them would have ever granted.

  “Trust in the Cap to find the best times, my friends,” Verte said with a grin.

  “Tell that to…” Tea cut himself off, shooting a guilty glance over to the towering figure that walked silently alongside Lana. “I think maybe the Cap should have stayed out of this one, that’s all I’m saying.”

  “Would you?”

  They all started at the gravely voice and turned to the speaker.

  Ogre Crook was, if anything bigger than he had been before. His muscles looked like they’d been working out, but that wasn’t what really drew the eye. It was the veins that bulged under the skin, visibly throbbing and moving as though of their own free will. The big man glared at Tea until Lana hugged at his arm and he calmed down.

  “Sorry,” He said finally. “I… I’ve been getting angry easier since… you know.”

  “Yeah, we know,” Lana assured him, “It’s ok, Charles. We understand.”

  He smiled, “Only you call me Charles.”

  “I’m not calling you Ogre. Never liked that, even when we were serving,” She grumbled.

  “It is who I am,” He said, “but I like Charles.”

  Ogre’s eyes swept the others, glaring as he defied them to comment… or, worse, call him Charles.

  Any further conversation was put on hold when a Navy Ensign intercepted them, eyeing the group up nervously… especially Ogre… before saying anything.

  “Chief Treadwell?” He asked, trying and failing not to look like a shaking puppy.

  “That’s me, Ensign,” Tea said.

  “Your transfer is this way,” The Ensign nodded, pointing. “We have a C17 prepping for a flight to Okinawa. I’m told that someone you know is on board, a Colonel Pierson?”

  “Good,” Sarge muttered, “We might get some real answers.”

  “lead the way, Ensign,” Tea said, “We’re right behind you.”

  The Ensign glanced at Ogre, seemingly worried that Tea might be telling the truth about that, but nonetheless moved to lead the group through the airfield.

  *****

  Emily Pierson was feeling more than a little frazzled.

  She’d barely had time to grab her go-bag before she was hustled onto an Army Transport that took her to San Diego. There she was hustled over to a Navy transport that got her to Pearl, most of the time in the air spent reading reports from the gene analysis teams they had working at various places around the country.

  And so she was sitting in the spartan interior of a C17 Globemaster III, strapped into a jump seat beside a multi million dollar CRAY computer that someone had managed to shake loose just for her, waiting on the last arrivals before taking off and heading for Okinawa.

  The situation in China was still too filled with unknowns to be of any comfort to her, of course, she was far more comfortable commanding her lab than flying out at the drop of a hat to possibly watch world war three unfold in person.

  God, I hope the Chinese aren’t that crazy. They have to know that we’re not behind this, we wouldn’t have done that to our own people…

  She hoped they wouldn’t, at least. Lord knew, there were plenty of examples in the history of the country that contradicted her. The Tuskegee incident tended to stand out in that regard.

  Still, she had to believe that… if nothing else… any agency in the US government that might have the capability and intent to do such things would also have at least the modicum of intelligence not to unleash it on a US city so blindly.

  Emily was broken from her thoughts when footsteps tromped up the lowered ramp at the back of the aircraft, and she looked down the length of the plane to see the group walk in. As soon as they stepped out of the glare of the exterior backlight, she recognized them and undid her straps so she could rise and greet them.

  “It’s a pleasure to see you all again,” Emily said to the group as they dropped their bags and nodded in her direction.

  “Understand you looked over the Cap after he started to change, is that right?” Lana asked, eyes boring into Emily’s own across the plane.

  Emily nodded, “That’s correct.”

  “What did you find?”

  “Are you aware of CRISPR?”

  Lana nodded hesitantly, “Someone fucked with our genes?”

  “Not how I’d put it, but that covers the bases, yes,” Emily confirmed.

  “Well shit,” Lana slumped into a seat and folded her arms up under her chest. “I didn’t think that crap existed outside the comic books.”

  “Apparently it does, but honestly, it’s way past any of the research I’m familiar with,” Emily sighed as she watched the group settle into place. “If you all don’t mind, I’d like to get more samples from each of you before we part company, it’ll help with trying to establish the mechanics behind whatever they did.”

  Lana exchanged glances with the others before nodding, “Fair enough. You’ll keep me in the loop on what you find, however.”

  “Of course,” Emily said firmly, “Though I’ll warn you, chances are I won’t recognize a lot of what I find, especially at first.”

  “Naturally,” Lana sighed, settling back into the jump seat. She glanced to where Ogre was still standing beside her, “Take a seat, Charles.”

  Ogre looked down at the jump seats uncertainly, “Not sure I should.”

  “Sit.”

  The big man sighed, a sound more like distant thunder than anything else, before settling into the seat beside her, slowly and gingerly. The military issue jumpseat creaked dangerously under his weight before he shook his head and got back up.

  “Not gonna work, Lana,” He said simply. “Don’t wanna fall on my ass. Especially not if that seat breaks. Sounds like a recipe for something painful, if you know what I mean.”

  Lana sighed, but nodded.

  Ogre had gained a lot of body weight, somehow, since the changes the incident had awakened in him. He’d already been a powerful figure, and more than a little intimidating as many who’d crossed him in the past could cheerfully… or not so cheerfully… attest.

  Now, however, the blue veins under his skin stood out in startling manner and he found himself breaking things by accident as he literally didn’t understand his strength any longer. That was a line that his friends used to joke about in regards to him, but now it had a dark truth to it that the Ogre of the Fifteenth couldn’t easily laugh off.

  Instead of sitting down, he remained standing as the plane was prepared for takeoff, leaning against the fuselage as he waited for clearance to be granted.

  Lana patted his arm, comforting as she could manage as she looked back to Colonel Pierson.

  “What happened to Alex?” She demanded, her tone cool.

  “What do you mean? You’ve seen the news reports, I have no doubt.” Emily didn’t understand the question.

  “That’s the problem, Colonel. We,” Lana gestured to the others, “know Alex better than almost anyone alive, other than Debra. What we saw on those reports and that live feed didn’t make much sense.”

  “I don’t understand, I know that his powers are a lot to take in…”

  “Not the powers,” Lana cut her off, making a chopping motion with her hand. “Alex never goes into a fight alone, and he prefers to talk if he can, not taunt. We watched the footage, it was like seeing someone else on the screen.”

  “She’s not lying, Colonel,” Verte said as he slouched in his jumpseat. “The Cap, he is a Marine… despite that, he’s not stupid.”

  Ogre growled in his friend’s direction, earning a wink from the Army man.

  “He has the guts to rush into a situation like that, if the needs be,” He went on blithely, “but the brains to tell the difference. He should have called for reinforcements, cher.”

  Emily hummed, thinking about it, “I didn’t know him before. He just seemed like a brash Marine to me. I’ll look over the test data we have on him.”

 

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