After the first chapter, the second chapter is the hardest to write. There’s still quite a bit of exposition to balance, so hopefully things should go quicker after this.
It’s posted with the first chapter in Baen’s Bar in the Slush Pile section (comments go in Slush Comments). Any critiques and help on making it better is greatly appreciated (and, if it sucks, I need to know that to so I stop wasting my time).

Yay! I finally put it up!
It’s a bit rough (this doesn’t have SarahK proofreading yet though I’ve certainly gone over it a lot more than a blog post), but I’m hoping it’s a good start. It’s quite different than the original bit by bit story, but Doug, Bryce, Charlene, and Lulu are still there and nearly unchanged.
Anyway, I’d really appreciate any help in making this a good story. It’s posted at Baen’s Bar in the Slush Pile section (comments on the story go in Slush Comments). You’ll have to register, but it only takes a second and they’ve never spammed the e-mail I supplied for registering to the forum.
If you have suggestions for making the story better, that would be quite helpful. If you point out big problems or things that come off as too confusing, that would also be helpful. If it sucks so badly that it should be immediately buried, I’ll need to hear that too so I can stop working on Chapter 2.
Anyone who helps in this project will get extra IMAO bonus points. Don’t pass up this exciting offer!
Hope you enjoy it. The story combines both science and fiction.

For the three or four Hellbender fans out there, I finally had some time over the weekend to sit down and start writing. I now have the prologue and first chapter written (and I might put the new prologue up here if there’s interest; it’s pretty short). When I start putting up the chapters, it will be at Baen’s Bar so I can get critical feedback. It will be quite a bit different from the short story I started, but the characters are the same.
To tide you over, here’s some Hellbender footage:

Continue reading ‘Hellbender!’ »

The “MAYBE…” at the end of the last part of Hellbender wasn’t done with the intention of provoking a response from the readers (I know a number of people are enjoying the series and was happy to continue it). The reason is that I’m thinking of going a different direction with it. The scope of the story kept growing, and I began to realize I couldn’t do a statisfying short story. Thus, though initially not quite satisified with Hellbender, I’m thinking of making it my first novel attempt, going back to the beginning and completely rewriting it and bulking it up with novel length in mind.
So, it’s a creative decision. While I will hack out humor with reckless abandon, I’m a bit more careful if I think I have a good story idea. Thus, I don’t think I’m going to finish Hellbender in its current form because I’d just be finishing it to finish it and I now have a much better story in mind.
More news as events occur…

BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 20)

Vera stared at the rubble of her research building and the workers scurrying about it like ants after the destruction of an anthill.
“That must have been fun.”
Dumalt appeared as a large man with short dark hair and darker eyes that easily reduced to a quivering mass any fool that met them. He wore the uniform of a general, but he never appeared very interested in leading people. Vera turned to him. “They stole my research and blew up my research building. I am not in a good mood.”
“And what can we do about it?”
“They’re mercenaries, Dumalt.”
He smiled broadly. “So the treaties don’t apply?”
Vera never got as much enjoyment out of inflicting physical harm on people as Dumalt did, but she couldn’t help but smile a bit at the thought of the fate that awaited those who crossed her. “No, they don’t. It’s open season on these humans.”
“Excellent. I hate those damn treaties; we can’t kill each other’s humans, and, if I kill too many of ours, I get yelled at. I feel almost as restricted as before the Great War.”
“Do we know where they are?”
“Yes, their vehicle was spotted landing in the wastelands. I’ll tell our troops to hang back and leave them to me.”
“To us.” Vera’s expression turned more serious. “One of them knew who we are.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“He called me one of ‘The Fallen’ and didn’t appear at all surprised when their weapons failed to harm me.”
Dumalt’s smile faded. This was no longer just an opportunity to have some fun tearing some humans limb from limb. “Should we tell Asmod?”
“Let’s find out exactly what they know first.”
Dumalt frowned. “I’m not very good at reading men’s minds.”
Vera laughed. “It’s simple; just hurt them until they tell us what they know.”
Dumalt smiled again. “And then?”
“And then, my friend, you do whatever else to them pleases you.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
MAYBE…

Help Save Science Fiction at Jim Baen’s Universe!
(NOTE: Frank J.’s hastily hacked together stories are in no way supported or condoned by Baen)

BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 19)

“You’re creepy.” Lulu fired a three-round burst from her pistol at Vera.
Vera didn’t react at all; she didn’t even flinch.
Charlene fired at the woman, and again nothing. Charlene looked more than a little concerned.
Vera laughed. “You people really have no idea what you’ve gotten yourselves into.”
“She’s one of the Fallen!” Doug pointed his knife at her while looking to Bryce. “Regular weapons can’t harm her.”
Bryce just appeared confused. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
For the first time, Vera looked a bit concerned as she now focused on Doug. “The Fallen? Where did you hear that term?”
“What’s the Fallen?” asked a dumbfounded Charlene.
Doug wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t feel like running up and stabbing the woman as that just seemed too awkward… plus the KaBar knife just didn’t feel as sacred anymore now that he saw one of the Fallen not be harmed in the slightest by bullets.
“Bryce, did we have a backup plan in case we were confronted with a bulletproof woman,” Lulu asked, staring at Vera with fearful eyes.
“I’m devising one.” Bryce dug through his pockets. “I had explosive cufflinks, but I wore a shirt that doesn’t use cufflinks…” He pulled out a pen. “That’s the flash grenade… and… ah-ha!” Bryce took out a cufflink and threw it against the wall where it stuck. “You have this.” He then tossed the pen at Vera. “Everyone else: duck.”
Simultaneously, the pen exploded in a flash while the wall to their side blew apart, peppering them all with debris. “Come on!” Bryce called as he disappeared through the exit.
Doug wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to stand and fight, but Charlene pushed him through the hole in the wall before he could decide. The four of them ran through the room to the hallway exit, all glancing behind them for Vera who was no where to be seen.
“What the hell is going on?” Charlene yelled.
They reached the stairway and quickly made their way up. “Don’t know,” Bryce said. “This one actually lands on Doug to explain, but why don’t we just get out of here and leave it all a moot point.”
“They’re like aliens that need to be sent back to a prison dimension that I was told about in a dream by…”
Bryce kicked the door open leading to the roof. “Save it for the ride home, Doug!” On the roof was a large landing pad upon which sat one military vehicle. They wasted no time getting inside. Bryce sat at the controls.
Charlene closed the side hatch. “You know how to fly this?”
“I took a few classes on VTOL vehicles.” Bryce fumbled at the controls in a way that didn’t look to Doug like he new what he was doing. Still, the vehicle finally lurched into the air and Bryce let out a victory shout. “Invulnerable aliens or not, we’re getting out of here with the hard drive!” He patted the case he that was hanging at his side by a shoulder sling. “Time for a paycheck, people!”
Lulu pumped her fist in the air. “Go Hellbender!”
Charlene turned to Doug. “Now, what are the Fallen?”
“Well… uh…” Doug looked out the window as he tried to put his thoughts together. He watched as the research building below them faded into the distance and exploded. “Did the building just explode?”
Bryce tried to look behind him while piloting the craft. “What? What exploded?”
Lulu stared out of the window. “The whole building.”
“Charlene! What did you do?” Bryce yelled.
Charlene looked towards the fire below them. “I didn’t do it! I still have my explosives.”
“Doug! What did you do?”
Doug scratched his head. “I’ve accidentally blown up lots of stuff before, but never a whole building… once a tool shed, though.”
“The entire building is gone,” Charlene said. “That was a professional demolition; are we being set up?”
“I don’t know why anyone would make such an effort.” Bryce looked at the console. “Well, look at all the pretty dots on the radar converging on us; that must be about the entire Asmod military. Everyone sit down and fasten your seat belts; we’re going to see how fast this thing goes.”
Doug finally put his knife away and got a seat next to Charlene. He was then pressed against the chair by a huge force as the craft rocketed forward.
“I’m taking us over the wastelands,” Bryce said with some effort against the pressure. “I figure we land a ways out of Proserpine territory and hoof it in. Then we deliver the merchandise, get our credits, and lie low for a bit. Sound like a plan?”
“Aren’t the wastelands full of flesh-eating mutants?” Lulu asked.
Bryce sighed. “Why does everyone have an irrational fear of flesh-eating mutants? We’ll just…” An alarm went off. “Crap.”
“What now?” Charlene demanded.
“Just a… um… hardware malfunction.” The craft suddenly slowed. Then it sped up in a new, more earthbound direction. Bryce now hit buttons on the console like a madman. “Everyone… um… how does that go… um… ‘Brace for impact.'”
NEXT

Help Save Science Fiction at Jim Baen’s Universe!
(NOTE: Frank J.’s hastily hacked together stories are in no way supported or condoned by Baen)

BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 18)

Charlene warned Doug that the released prisoners might mistake them for guards and kill them too, but Doug had solved the problem by walking up to them and saying, “Hi. I’m Doug, and I’m going to help get you all out of here.” There wasn’t any time for other introductions as they were soon engaged in firefights with more soldiers. Charlene gladly led the way through these as Doug and the prisoners who obtained guns provided cover fire. Doug was good at cover fire as it involved shooting in a general direction of people without necessarily hitting anyone – the type of shooting he excelled at.
Another soldier fell under a burst of gunfire. Charlene tossed her rifle and grabbed his before facing the group following her. “That’s the last of them! Come on! The communications are down, so all the soldiers in the building only know the alarm is off but not why. We have to get out of here before they put things together.”
The twelve freed prisoners, had expressions hovering somewhere between hopeful and confused. One older man finally spoke up. “Who are you people?”
Charlene looked annoyed. “Doesn’t matter; come on.”
She led them to the stairway and Doug turned to the group and said, “We were just passing through, so we thought we’d help.”
“Thanks… Doug.”
Doug smiled. “No problem!”
There were some gunshots, and then they all had to step over a body on the stairway. After they got up a few flights, Charlene announced, “Here’s where we part. You can take this stairwell to the roof where you can obtain a vehicle to get out of here… just leave at least one for us or I’ll find another way out of here and then hunt you all down.” Charlene scowled to make her point.
The freed prisoners kept heading up the stairs, a few calling out “Thank you”… mainly directed at Doug since they all seemed a bit scared of Charlene.
Doug waived goodbye and then followed Charlene out of the stairway. “They were nice.”
“They won’t last long; they probably don’t have anywhere to escape to as I don’t think any nation would accept them.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’ll find some place.”
Charlene just glared at Doug for a half-second. She had been a bit tense ever since Doug accidentally set off the alarm.
As they approached Lab 8, they spotted four people standing in the hallway: Bryce, Lulu, and two soldiers. Charlene fired her rifle and then it was just Bryce and Lulu standing there.
Bryce recovered quickly from the surprise. “We were just telling them about the training exercise and how we were waiting on two technicians.”
“And then you shot them,” Lulu added. “I could have done that.”
Charlene shoved Bryce towards the lab door. “Let’s just get this over with.”
“Don’t be so impatient.” Bryce swiped a security card and entered a code. “We weren’t the ones who set off the alarm.”
“That was Doug’s fault!”
“But you had all ready shot people first!” Doug said. He knew Charlene seemed upset, but he didn’t think he deserved all the blame.
The lab door opened, and Lulu led the way. “The important thing is no one got seriously hurt… other than people we don’t care about.”
Bryce and Charlene got to work on opening some computer at the back of the lab while Lulu watched. Doug then noticed a number of drawers with labels composed of odd combinations of letters and numbers. “Oh yeah, Stan told me to look for some project here that would help me.”
Charlene took a panel off the side. “Who is Stan?”
Bryce pulled out the hard drive. “Doug’s imaginary friend; we don’t have time for this.”
“It would prove Stan is real if what he told was here is here.” Doug scanned the labels on the drawers. “I think he said to look for project DX-7.”
“GX-7.” Doug turned to see a woman had entered the lab behind them. She was an attractive brunette wearing a white lab coat over a black evening gown. “And who was it who told you of that project?”
Charlene had her rifle on the woman in a blink. Lulu followed suit pulling out her handgun.
The woman laughed. “So you people are the cause of all the commotion. All I ask is to be able to work in my lab in peace, and, if someone disturbs that peace, I want them killed. Apparently I need better help.” She looked them over. “So all this is to steal my backup drive.” She turned to Doug. “And project GX-7?”
Doug spotted the drawer labeled “GX-7” and opened it. Inside was a vial that he pocketed. “Now that I found it, I guess I’m stealing it. Nothing personal.”
Bryce placed the hard drive in a case. “I don’t know who you are, lady, but…”
“I’m Vera, of the Vera Research Facility.” Her smile faded. “This is my research building, and I really don’t like having you here.”
“Well, Vera,” Lulu said, waving her gun at the woman, “we have the job we’re hired to do, so why don’t you just stand back and no one else will have to get hurt.”
Vera didn’t look at all concerned about the guns pointed her way; she actually seemed to be ignoring them. There was something off about her… something Doug couldn’t quite place. And, when he did place it, it sent a shiver down his spine. He slowly reached for his knife.
Vera smiled again, this time more like a predator bearing its teeth. “Maybe ‘no one else getting hurt’ is not the outcome I want.”
NEXT

Help Save Science Fiction at Jim Baen’s Universe!
(NOTE: Frank J.’s hastily hacked together stories are in no way supported or condoned by Baen)

BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 17)

When the alarm went off, Bryce lost his cool for a moment. He quickly regained himself, and, as Reiter and his guard Blair stared at Bryce looking ready to move against him, Bryce casually glanced to his watch and said, “The alarm was supposed to go off five minutes ago; I wonder if something is wrong?”
They were in an empty lab; Reiter seemed to be careful on what he showed Bryce until he had more confirmation on who he was. Bryce had seen enough, though, including the pin number that went with Reiter’s access card. He only had to get it from him, but Blair was watching them like a hawk. So the best bet was to take out Blair first, but Bryce had two problems with that: One, he wasn’t the kind of person who could just pull out a gun and shoot someone face to face. Two, he was scared of Blair.
Thus he figured that meant he should get Lulu to do it, who, for all he knew, could be freaking out behind him. Bryce couldn’t risk breaking character to check, though.
Reiter looked ready to burst with frustration. “Why didn’t you tell me you were setting off the alarm?”
Bryce sighed. “How many times do I have to say this is a surprise inspection?”
Blair had her hand resting on the rifle slung over her shoulder and kept a steady gaze on Bryce. “I should check with surveillance on what’s happening.”
Bryce shook his head. “You can’t do that. Communications are down as part of the test.” Or, at least, they should be if Doug and Charlene didn’t completely screw up.
Reiter made a fist. “You took down our communications?!”
Blair began to grip her rifle. “How are we supposed to find out if he is who he says he is now?”
Bryce rolled his eyes. “Obviously, if we know enough about this place to bring down the communications, then we must be who we say we are. Can we keep this moving?”
It looked like Reiter couldn’t decide whether to obey or shoot Bryce. “You do know Dumalt is coming?”
Dumalt? “Of course.”
“I wonder who he’ll kill when he finds the place like this.” Blair pointed her rifle at Bryce. “But I know who I will.”
Bryce could hear Lulu scribbling behind him, confirming she was still there. He looked to Reiter while pointing at Blair. “This woman just pointed a gun at an Asmod official. I want her executed.”
Blair kept her gun on Bryce while Reiter now drew his sidearm but kept it down at his side. Bryce could tell he very much wanted to shoot him, but there was that seed of doubt. Reiter must have still left open the possibility that Bryce really was just another pompous government official, and, by shooting him – as logical as that seemed – he would be signing his own death warrant.
Blair seemed to be waiting for word from Reiter, but, getting none, she glanced towards him. It seemed the perfect time to act – if Bryce were more of a man of action, that is.
All Bryce knew was that someone fired, and then he lost track of everything else. There was a stinging pain on his left arm, and he saw Reiter, bleeding from his right hand, and reaching for his gun on the ground with his left. Bryce ran forward and kicked him, meeting foot to chin. By the time Bryce remembered his own gun, he realized it was all over. Blair was dead, and behind him stood Lulu holding a smoking gun, the notepad laying at her feet.
Lulu lowered her weapon. “I never killed anyone like that before.”
“Better than getting killed like that.” Bryce looked over the unconscious Reiter for his keycard.
Lulu smiled. “I’m like a real killer now, aren’t I? Is there some special ceremony you’re supposed to do with your first kill? Like, should I drink her blood?”
Bryce gave her an odd glance as he stood up with the keycard. “We don’t have time to stop for a drink. Now, put your gun away, pick up your notepad, and let’s just walk out of here.”
Lulu put the gun back under her suit jacket. “I’m in charge, and if I decide to shoot more people, I will.” She picked up her notepad. “What do you think happened with Charlene and Doug?”
“Dunno.” Bryce activated his radio as he headed towards the hallway. “Doug, Sidewinder, what happened?”
In his earpiece came the answer, “This is Doug. Uh… Hey, Bryce, what’s your call sign again?”
“Midas.”
“Well, Midas, we… Wait, why don’t I get a call sign?”
“Because you’re Doug. Now what happened?”
“We got the software installed like we were supposed to, but then I thought maybe we should free the people prisoner here because…”
“No! Bad Doug! No thinking! I’m docking part of Charlene’s pay for not keeping good watch of you!”
“Sidewinder,” Doug corrected.
“Whatever. What are you all doing?”
“We’re headed up with our new friends… and Sidewinder is shooting at people right now.”
“The only way out are the vehicles on the roof; send your friends there if you want. You two meet us at Lab 8 where we are headed now. Midas out.”
When Bryce and Lulu exited into the hallway, they found themselves face to face with five soldiers. “Quick!” Bryce pointed vigorously into the lab they just exited. “Reiter has been shot!” The soldiers rushed into the room, and Bryce smashed through the glass to hit the emergency lockdown button, locking the soldiers inside.
Lulu tapped her notepad with her pen as they sped up the pace. “So, did Charlene start ‘Plan S’?”
“Kinda.”
“Things aren’t going to plan, are they?”
“We’re going by backup plans, which technically means we’re still in plan, I’d say.”
They encountered three more soldiers at the stairway. “Quick!” Bryce pointed down the hallway in panic. “A number of soldiers got locked in Lab 4!” The soldiers rushed to help.
As they headed up the stairs, Bryce noticed the sting in his left arm again. He looked to see a cut where a bullet must have grazed him. A bit of blood oozed down his sleeve. “Man, I liked this suit. Let’s not get shot anymore; that is definitely not planned. We better hurry; hopefully, if Doug and Charlene took down the network correctly, no one outside will notice this building is in lockdown. That will probably change whenever this Dumalt character gets here.”
“Who do you think he is?”
Bryce shrugged. “Why don’t we get this job done and get out of here as fast as we can and leave that a mystery for the ages.”
Lulu skipped ahead of Bryce. “Fine with me; this alarm is annoying.”
NEXT

Help Save Science Fiction at Jim Baen’s Universe!
(NOTE: Frank J.’s hastily hacked together stories are in no way supported or condoned by Baen)

BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 16)

“Did someone just get shot?”
Charlene was worried for a moment, but then she could hear the voice of Bryce continuing to prattle on. She’d figure he’d have been shot before Lulu. “Maybe,” Charlene answered Doug in an unconcerned tone as possible and then gave him a warning glance to remind him that he wasn’t supposed to do any talking.
Doug certainly didn’t seem like a very bright fellow. He was nice enough, though, and completely harmless as far as Charlene could tell… which meant he was a horrible person to bring into a situation where combat was likely. Still, he had come to her aid when she captured the battlemech the other day, and Charlene figured he may be of some use she had yet to fathom.
They took an elevator to the building’s basement, and Charlene spent the time contemplating how in the world she had ended up here. Yes, she was doing what looked to be an important mission for the Proserpine government (or at least she hoped it was for them), but it just made her feel so dirty to being doing mercenary work. What made it all the worse was that it was architected by a sleaze who rightfully should have been executed by the state years ago.
They exited the elevator into yet another sterile looking hallway.
Charlene knew there was no one to blame for this more than herself. It probably all was set in motion when she made friend with Lulu, she thought. She had been fine in the military before without any friends, spending her free time training to better herself. It was nice enough having someone to go shopping and chat with, but it was obvious to her now that it had all weakened her on the more important matters. How else could she explain that she was now infiltrating an enemy base as a mercenary?
Still, she had a job to do, and she would give it her full commitment.
Ahead of them were a number of scared looking men and women being ushered into a prison area. Charlene ignored it, but she noticed Doug watching them with concern. And, once again, he forgot to shut up. “Who are they?”
“They’re here in case we need human test subjects,” Carlson, their armed chaperone, answered.
Doug looked horrified. “Why them? What did they do?”
“Who cares?” Charlene quickly answered and hit Doug in the shoulder as a reminder to be quiet.
It worked, but not for long. After staring into the prison area for a short while, Doug whispered into Charlene’s ear, “Someone should help them.”
“If helping these people were of any interest, then Empress Proserpine would do so. Plus, far as we know, they deserve their fate.” They didn’t look like hardcore criminals, but looks were often deceiving.
“I bet not; this seems like an evil place. I don’t think anybody is going to help them unless we do… so I think that means we should try.”
Charlene tried to give Doug as fierce a glare as she could manage. “No. Now shut up.”
Carlson walked up next to them. “What are you two chatting about?”
Charlene turned her fierce glare to him. “None of your business. Just take us to the surveillance room.”
Their chaperone was certainly a threat if trouble broke out. It was obvious from how he carried himself and how his eyes assessed Charlene and Doug that he knew combat. He was also physically large, which was a further threat. If things happened quickly, Charlene guns were too concealed for her to be able to access them before Carlson could get off a shot. That meant she’d have to disable him hand to hand. Charlene was under no illusion that her small frame wasn’t a large disadvantage in that situation, but she had practiced long and hard about using her strength to the fullest against a larger opponent’s weak points.
The surveillance room consisted of a number of computers, numerous monitors, and two female technicians chatting (Pitt and Landers as said their nametags; each had a holstered handgun, but they didn’t appear to be big threats). There wasn’t much need of them to actually watch the monitors as computers did most of the scanning for anything unusual. When the technicians looked toward Doug and Charlene, they didn’t hide their dislike. “So what is this about?” Landers said. “I see you already left a body count.”
“It’s a surprise security inspection,” Charlene said. “Hopefully you two are doing your jobs properly and we won’t have to increase that body count.”
Pitt laughed. “Unlikely. Dumalt is coming by today. He never has come by without killing someone. I hope he just kills one of the prisoners this time; we can sometimes hear them from here and that gets annoying.”
Landers turned pale. “Last time Dumalt was here, he ripped someone’s head off.”
Charlene could tell from the woman’s expression that she didn’t mean that figuratively. Charlene didn’t know the mechanics involved in ripping someone’s head off, but she did know this Dumalt character was likely someone important… and thus someone who wouldn’t fall for Bryce’s shtick. Time was now of the essence. “We need to run some diagnostic software.”
Pitt frowned. “Nothing gets run on these machines without being vetted by us first… and that’s only after we see the proper paperwork.”
“But, in this case we… um…” Bryce made the BS look so easy, but it certainly wasn’t Charlene’s strong point. She could see that her hesitation already increased suspicion. Thus, she fell back on what she knew.
With a quick step back, she wrapped her arm around Carlson’s neck, bent him over backwards, and heard a satisfying snap. At the same time, she dropped her toolbox leaving a silenced pistol in her hand which she shot the two technicians with.
Doug looked confused… which seemed to be his natural expression. “That was violent.”
Charlene pulled out a disk. “I don’t like chit-chat. Anyway, there is no surveillance of the surveillance room, so we’re fine for now.” She noticed Doug had out the stupid knife in sheath he bought and held it tight.
“Who do you think Dumalt is?” he asked.
Charlene pushed a body out of the way and put the disk in the main terminal. “I don’t know, but I think we should get out of here before he arrives.” She looked to Doug, and something seemed to be on his mind.
“Do you think the Emperors are something other than regular people?”
Charlene ran the program. “I know that Empress Proserpine is, since she is divine.”
“Why do you think she’s better than the others?”
Her father fought and died for her rule, and she always assumed he had his reasons. Charlene checked a monitor to see the program’s progress. “Doug, is this discussion necessary?”
“Well… maybe. What do you know of The Great War?”
“Lots of places got nuked. Now, shut up.” Charlene came from a long line of military heroes, and her grandfather had fought in The Great War. He never said much about it – no one ever said much about the war or what came before it – but he did say one thing before he died.
The wrong side won.
He was old and crazy, though.
The surveillance room gave them good access to the security system, but not complete access. If the information they were given was correct, the cameras were all being disabled and their previous recordings wiped as the program run. She wouldn’t be able to disable an alarm, but she could change how the security system reacted to it including any notification being sent out and sealing off the front of the building while leaving them an alternate escape route.
Charlene looked away from the monitor to Doug who was actually being quiet… which worried her. He was carefully inspecting a console and then hit some buttons. “What did you just do?”
“I think… I think that released the prisoners.”
“What!”
“Hey! You killed three people; I think I should be able to hit some buttons.”
Charlene spotted surveillance of the prison and saw guards getting attacked by the dozen prisoners. One guard hit a button on the wall before getting knocked down.
An alarm now blared throughout the building.
“Idiot!” If Doug got her killed, it was going to greatly reduce her already mediocre opinion of him. She took the assault rifle off the body of Carlson. “Get your gun out, Doug; time to shoot people.”
NEXT

Help Save Science Fiction at Jim Baen’s Universe!
(NOTE: Frank J.’s hastily hacked together stories are in no way supported or condoned by Baen)

BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 15)

Bryce didn’t think this had much chance of succeeding, but he wasn’t going to profane what he was trying to do by putting some sort of Vegas Odds on it. Anyway, he convinced two others (Doug didn’t count) to go along with this non-plan to infiltrate an enemy base, so it must not have looked as hopeless as Bryce thought.
It wasn’t that Bryce had a death wish – he very much preferred living to the alternative – it was that society already had so many risks of deaths – were it being executed by the state for some perceived crime or getting killed on some pointless military mission – that he didn’t mind taking up a little more risk if it at least meant dying on his own terms for a cause he believed– that of course being 50,000 credits tax free. Thus, it wasn’t confidence that propelled Bryce in this situation, but instead it was the fact that he long ago gave up caring much about his inevitable death and thought he might as well enjoy all he could out of life before someone finally succeeded in putting a bullet in his head.
“What the hell kind of operation are you running here?” The person Bryce yelled at he assumed to be in charge since he was wearing a dress uniform and was the eldest and least befuddled of the group who met them at the Vera Research Facility lobby. Also, he was followed by two armed guards. He was also a large man who looked like he could flatten Bryce with a single swipe. The challenge was keeping him more afraid of Bryce than Bryce was of him.
“And who are you?” The man – who was named Reiter if Bryce’s assumptions were correct – looked to be forcibly holding back anger. That meant he felt there was at least some possibility Bryce was actually a government official.
Bryce got in his face. “You wouldn’t be asking that if you followed appropriate security procedures! I got in here with hardly any security checks!” Bryce pulled a pen from his pocket. “For all you know, I could be a deranged individual and this could be a bomb about to kill us all!” It was actually more of a flash grenade; Bryce forgot where he put his regular pen.
Reiter still looked a bit suspicious. “I never got a call…”
“Because it’s a surprise inspection; why are you people having trouble with that term. You need to call them to verify me. My name is Lancaster, and I’m with the Special Security Review… though they may be a little delay verify me since the security office had another name change that hasn’t propagated everywhere yet.”
Reiter sighed. “Again!” Bryce’s scam was based on the assumption that Emperor Asmod’s people dealt with roughly the bureaucracy has he did under Empress Proserpine. So far, that seemed to be working. And, to best imitate a bureaucrat with some power, Bryce only had to act extremely pompous and arrogant… which was easy enough.
Bryce carefully straightened his tie. “I want you to personally take me and my associate Chang on a tour of all the secure areas of this facility. Please don’t inform everyone in the building we are here, as this is, once again, a surprise inspection. My two technicians – whose names escape me – need to check out the computers running your alarms and surveillance.”
Reiter nodded to one of his guards. “Carlson, you handle them.” Carlson led Doug and Charlene down a hallway. That left Reiter with only one guard – an attractive but intimidating looking woman. Bryce suspected much of the security here were pros and not like the grunts who got them through the front. He also knew there was a decent chance he and Lulu would have to overpower Reiter and his guard at some point, though Bryce hoped to keep things at the intellectual instead of the physical. “Lancaster, I will have to call and…”
Bryce could hear Lulu scribbling in her notepad. He had instructed her to do that every so often to keep everyone on their toes. It worked, as everyone around immediately took notice. Now Bryce had to pick out something to be what she was writing about.
“Those speakers! They’re white!” Bryce looked at Reiter like he had missed that painting of the Emperor was hung upside down. “They need to be warning color such as red… or maybe yellow under certain situations.”
“I never knew of any regulation–”
Bryce put his finger in Reiter’s face. “Did you check the regulations today? Did you see the update?”
Reiter looked ready to get angry again, but he took a deep breath. “No, not today.”
Lulu wrote some more while Bryce threw his hands in the air. “I guess it didn’t matter to you, then!”
Reiter was flustered, but he regained himself. “So how did you get in this base without me hearing about it?”
“I meant to bring that up; two idiots Anders and Hill drove us in without checking on us at all. Really, what kind of operation is this?”
Reiter looked to the hapless Anders and Hill who still stood by holding bags of sandwiches. “He said this stuff about treason,” Anders said, “and–”
“Blair.”
Reiter’s guard pulled out a pistol and shot both Anders and Hill in the head. Bryce It was a somewhat bold move to try and intimidate him, but it’s not like he had never had anyone executed in front of him before. He just hoped Lulu was keeping her cool but couldn’t risk turning to check on her. She had seem fit enough for this work and had done a good job so far, as at least on of her lu’s seemed to stand for “lunatic”. As for Bryce, he had seen this coming and had secretly put in some earplugs which he now conspicuously took out. “Finally! Some positive action! I was wondering if I’d have to do that myself– as it is not my job. Can we get on with this?”
Reiter gave Bryce one last good look over before turning. “Follow me.”
Bryce had no idea how long it would take until enough phone calls were made that Reiter was certain that there were no Lancaster and Chang sent to inspect his facility. He was reasonably certain Doug would be okay then since he was with Charlene who seemed to be the type of person to be able to shoot her way out of most situations. As for what Bryce would do, he decided to surprise both them and himself when the time came.
Still, he hoped Lulu was at least a decent shot.
More importantly, Charlene and Doug had better have gotten their job done by then, or they were all dead anyway.
NEXT

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(NOTE: Frank J.’s hastily hacked together stories are in no way supported or condoned by Baen)

BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 14)

“This is happening too fast.”
Lulu appeared confused. “That won’t work as a motto.”
“You’re the one who didn’t want to spend too much time planning this, Charlene,” Bryce said. “Now we’ll have that hard drive and be back in Proserpine territory with plenty of time for you to get back to the stupid military if that’s what you want.”
Charlene checked her pistol and put it back in her toolbox. “Or we’ll be dead.”
Lulu wagged her finger at Charlene. “That’s not the spirit. See, that’s why I’m leader.”
Doug was even more worried than Charlene, but he kept his mouth shut. Being smuggled in the back of a truck to Asmod territory was a bit scary. They couldn’t see outside to know for certain they were actually going where the shifty people they paid said they’d be taken. All the four had was one light to see by and a number of crates to lean against while the ride seemed to hit every bump in the road. Taking it for granted that they were actually going to make it into Asmod territory and that they would be able to get into the military base and the research facility without getting shot, they didn’t have a way back home since their driver was going to leave as soon as they were dropped off. Bryce said not to worry, but Doug thought someone should worry about it. At least he was able to make a thermos of coffee before they left.
“Anyone want coffee to help calm down?”
“Caffeine is a stimulant; it won’t calm anyone down,” Charlene said.
Doug poured himself a cup. “It calms me down.” He took a sip and then scratched his side; the blue maintenance uniform he was wearing was itchy.
Charlene scratched as well. “Why couldn’t I wear a suit for this?”
Lulu posed in her brand new business suit. “Because you don’t have an air of authority like I do.”
“Your skirt is too short and you still have those stupid pigtails.”
“You can be cute and still have authority, Charlene!”
“Ladies, calm down.” Bryce was putting in the earpiece for their radios. “We need to keep our cool for this to work. Doug, you keep alternating between looking really confused and really scared; that’s not going to do it. I need your trademark blank stare for this.”
“I’ll try, but how are we even going to get into the military base?”
“That’s my problem. Just focus on your job. And what’s your job?”
“Carry my toolbox and follow Charlene.”
“And, if even the slightest thing goes wrong,” Charlene said, “take out a gun and start shooting.”
Lulu frowned. “You’re not going to be happy today unless you get to kill someone, are you?”
Charlene smiled. “Same as any other day.”

When the truck stopped, they were unceremoniously unloaded along with a couple crates in a back alley. Bryce then led them to the city street. It was a weird feeling being in another nation, but the place looked exactly the same as any city in Proserpine territory. There even some of the same restaurant chains.
“Here we go.” Bryce pointed to a military vehicle parked by a deli down the street.
When they reached the vehicle, two soldiers – a man and a woman – were coming out of the deli with bags in hand.
“You’re going to give us a ride to the Vera Research Facility.” Bryce flipped open his wallet and flipped it close just as quick. “We’re conducting a surprise security inspection.”
The soldiers did look quite surprised. “I’ll have to contact the base and clear this,” the man said.
Bryce frowned. “Chang, get down their names.”
Lulu walked forward while writing in a notepad. She looked to the male soldier’s name tag. “Anders…” Then the woman’s. ” Hill…”
“Make sure to note that they would actually warn of a surprise inspection… completely undermining government oversight of security procedures.” Bryce glared at the two soldiers. “I will see you executed for treason before this day is over!”
“Wait!” Anders shouted. “I just wanted to follow the rules and–”
“We’re from the government and we make the rules! Now take us to research facility before you impede us any further.”
Hill looked to Doug and Charlene. “Who are they?”
“Our technicians,” Bryce answered. “What is it of your concern? Why are you trying to learn the details of this surprise inspection? What are your intentions?”
Lulu began writing in her notepad again. Hill looked terrified. “I won’t ask anymore questions! I’m sorry!”
Anders opened the door to the rear of the truck. “Why don’t we just get going? We’ll do whatever we can to help.”
“You’ll do nothing!” Bryce shouted. He led his group into the rear of the truck while Anders and Hill got in the front carry their bags from the deli.
Anders got the truck on the road. “We were just picking up lunch for everyone; please don’t charge us with treason or anything.”
“I guess you were acting out of ignorance of security details, but that in itself is damning.” Bryce looked to Lulu. “What do you think, Chang?”
“I don’t know. What did they get for us to eat?”
“Well… we didn’t know you were going to be here,” Hill said.
Lulu started writing in her notepad while Bryce looked ready to explode in anger. “You know at any time there could be a surprise inspection!” Bryce shouted. “I could only assume that the reason you would not have lunch for us is out of sheer contempt for the Asmod government and its officials!”
Anders almost lost control of the vehicle. “You can have my sandwich!”
“What kind is it?”
“Ham.”
Bryce carefully considered it. “Fine. That will do.”
Lulu grabbed Hill by the shoulder. “I’m watching my figure so I want a salad.”
“You can have mine!” Hill handed over a salad in a plastic container and Anders sandwich.
During the rest of the trip, Bryce and Lulu ate the soldiers’ lunch while Doug and Charlene just sat quietly. Doug was too nervous to eat, and he assumed Charlene was just too businesslike to eat while on a mission. They soon reached the military base and found themselves surrounded by armed soldiers on all sides. The research facility was at the heart of the base. So there they were, surrounded by an enemy army, with only Bryce’s quick-talking protecting them.
Doug took some consolation in the fact that the two soldiers who drove them there currently looked more scared than he felt.
They walked towards the large research facility in front of them. “So you intimidated some grunts,” Charlene said to Bryce and Lulu, “Do you really think you’re going to be able to fool the officials running this heavily secured building?”
Bryce smiled. “You do your job, I’ll do mine, and everything will turn out just fine.”
Lulu scribbled in her notepad. “Now that could be our motto!”
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(NOTE: Frank J.’s hastily hacked together stories are in no way supported or condoned by Baen)

BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 13)

“Service with a smile!”
Bryce stopped walking and looked to Lulu. “Huh?”
“As our motto!”
Charlene pushed Lulu forward. “Keep working on it.”
Doug didn’t like that idea either; we wasn’t good at faking a smile. They entered the store labeled “Gus’s Antiques” and found a small shop full of old furniture that hadn’t aged well. After they were there only a couple seconds, the old, balding man upfront – a large, rough character who looked like a “Gus” – shouted, “Buy some antiques or get out!”
Bryce approached the shopkeep. “Actually, we’re looking for some different types of… ‘antiques’.”
Gus furrowed his brow. “Huh?”
Bryce straightened his tie. “You know… some items you might not like to display out front.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, fancy-pants.”
Charlene pushed Bryce aside. “We want to see your black-market goods.”
Gus stared at her a moment. “What makes you think I would have such things?”
“Because this store here takes up only about ten percent of the building from the look of this place from the outside.”
“Wiseacre.” Gus led them to a door at the back. On the other side was a big warehouse full of more weapons than Doug had ever seen (the military never let him in the armory). Not only were there small arms, but missiles and the means to launch them as well.
Doug picked up two pistols and tried to make a fierce pose. “We can kick so much ass with this stuff!”
Bryce took the pistols away and set them back on the rack. “Learn to handle one competently.”
Charlene first looked like a kid in a candy store, but she soon composed herself. “How in the world do you keep all this stuff here without getting arrested?”
Gus chuckled. “Why would I be arrested? All of this here is for entertainment purposes only. If anyone uses this stuff for murder or sedition, that’s out of my control.”
Lulu looked unimpressed by the selection. “Anything on sale?”
“I’ve slashed prices on all my intercontinental ballistic missiles.” Gus pointed to a large, complex-looking missile launcher.
Bryce grimaced. “Too bad there’s nothing on another continent we want destroyed.”
“Not now,” Lulu said, “but if it’s on sale we should buy some in case we need to destroy stuff later.”
Charlene set down a rifle she was inspecting. “ICBMs are useless, Lulu. All nations have defense systems that would shoot them down as soon as they were launched; that’s why they’re on sale.”
Lulu walked up to Gus and pointed at his face threateningly. “You tried to sell me junk!”
“Caveat emptor. So what do you kids want?”
“I’ll handle this.” Charlene stepped forward. “Our ‘entertainment’ needs to be concealable. I’m thinking caseless-round pistols with three-round burst capability. We’ll also want a variety of ammo: both armor piercing and rounds good on soft-tissue.”
Gus smiled. “I think I can make the lady happy.”
“Oh, and we’ll be entertaining in Emperor Asmod’s territory,” Bryce added, “so, if you have documentation for Asmod officials and maybe some uniforms, that would be super-duper.”
Gus pointed to the back of the store. “Uniforms are there. Documentation selection is by the printers. I can also set you up with transportation past the border if needed… and if you have the money.”
“I think we can do business Mr. Gus.” Lulu glared at Gus. “But don’t try and sell us anymore junk or I’ll rip out your spleen.”
“Whatever, girly. Who are you people anyway?”
Lulu stood up straight. “Hellbender: Motto in the Works. Now do you know where a good women’s clothing store is, because I need to pick out a new suit.”
Gus rolled his eyes. “I’ll draw you directions.”
Lulu turned to Charlene. “Are you going to come?”
“Do I get to buy any clothing?”
“No. You need a maintenance jumpsuit for this mission, but I don’t like shopping alone.”
“Sorry, but I think it’s best I stay here and pick out our weapons.”
“I’ll go with, Lulu.” Bryce fixed his suit jacket. “I know fine clothing; I didn’t steal this suit off of just any dead guy.”
Lulu sighed. “Fine. I’ll go with Bryce. You and Doug have fun picking out guns and we’ll be back here soon.”
Gus handed Lulu some directions and she and Bryce headed out. Doug liked the idea of being alone with Charlene, but she was staring at different guns with such intensity he figured he’s be a pest to say anything to her. Looking around for something to do, he saw a wall of older looking weapons. It was a collection of both guns and blades from some long ago era.
Gus walked up next to him. “Anything you like?”
“You have any weapons that are… uh… sacred?”
Gus thought for a moment. “The old stuff comes ‘as is’.”
Doug looked at the different guns, knives, and swords, hoping something would jump out.
“Good thinking.” Charlene had walked up behind Doug while he was focused on finding his weapon capable of banishing the Fallen. “The older stuff can be more reliable sometimes and good for back up.”
Doug smiled at her, and turned back to the weapons rack. Then he saw it. It was a fierce looking knife with a dark blade. He carefully picked it up. “This is what I want.”
Charlene looked at the knife quizzically. “I was talking about revolvers; if you want a fixed blade knife, you’re better off getting something made from modern composite material.”
“It is a special knife,” Gus said. “It’s called a Ka-Bar, and its origins are unknown. Said to have been used by great warriors of old.”
Charlene laughed. “It’s a relic and a waste of money.”
Doug didn’t want to go against Charlene, but he was pretty sure of this. “I’ll buy it with my own money, then.”
Charlene picked up a snub-nosed revolver and worked the action. “Whatever makes you feel safer, I guess.”
Doug turned to Gus. “Ten credits, right?”
“That’s the non-sacred version.” Gus took the knife and put it in its leather sheath. “This one is twenty-five credits.”
“I only have ten.”
“Fine.” Gus took Doug’s credit chip and emptied it of its last remaining credits. Doug put the useless chip back in his pocket and marveled a bit at the knife he held. He put his hand around the handle, and it just felt sacred – whatever sacred meant.
Then he felt something shoved down the back of his pants. Doug froze, not sure of what to do, until Charlene told him, “Calm down; it’s a revolver. That’s what you should keep on you as backup.”
Doug unsuccessfully tried to look at the gun in the back of his waistband.
Charlene patted him on the shoulder. “Trust me; I’m going to do my best to keep us alive. Take the knife with you if you want, but also take my weapon recommendations.” She smiled at him, and he smiled back. She was quite pretty, and Doug felt it was only a matter of time until she dismissed him as too big an idiot to bother with. That wasn’t his biggest concern, though. While he trusted that Charlene was going to do her best to give them a fighting chance, Doug had a feeling in his gut that what Stan had told him was true. That meant their survival came down to him and the knife he held.
“You okay, Doug?” Charlene asked. “You look terrified.”
Doug put the knife in his jacket pocket. “I’ll be fine; I’m a soldier, aren’t I?”
Charlene shrugged her shoulders. “I guess.”
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(NOTE: Frank J.’s hastily hacked together stories are in no way supported or condoned by Baen)

BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 12)

Doug awoke to a sharp slap to his face. “Wake up! What are you, drugged?”
Standing above him was the beautiful but perturbed Charlene. It took a moment for Doug to get his bearings and remember where he was. He made a motion to get up, fell off the sofa to the ground, and then successfully got to his feet. “So was I lying here all night?”
Charlene shrugged. “I don’t know; I wasn’t watching you all night. Do you sleepwalk or something?”
Doug considered how to explain his concern and settled on the easy out. “Never mind.”
Somehow, the abandoned office building looked even drearier now that he could see it better in the sunlight. Amongst the broken desks sat Bryce and Lulu looking over plans for the upcoming mission. “Do we know what we’re doing yet?” Doug asked.
Lulu frowned. “It’s still being debated.”
Bryce glared at Charlene. “One of us doesn’t seem to be happy with any plan that doesn’t involve killing everyone within a five mile radius of the research building.”
Charlene took a seat at the table. “It’s a matter of time. We can plan an implement a night time raid and be back in time for our regular military duty. It will require killing all the guards in the building, but why should that be a problem?” She turned to Lulu. “Anyway, if we’re gone more than a couple days, we’ll be listed as AWOL, Lulu, and then there will be no going back when you realize how idiotic this is.”
Bryce laughed. “Like there is anything more idiotic than walking back into the meat grinder that is the Proserpine military when you have another option. That’s why I trashed my place: the government will find it easier to declare me dead than expend any resources trying to figure out what happened.”
Lulu looked unsure. “I would like to keep my options open. Maybe I can fake my death later.”
Bryce leaned back in his chair. “Well, when you two girls want, just tell me what kind of deaths you girls want and I know some people who can fake it for you.”
Doug took a chair between Bryce and Charlene. “Can I have a cool death?”
“You don’t need one, Doug. Remember what it says on the front of your official file?”
Doug thought for a moment. “‘Burden to Society.'”
Bryce nodded. “You disappear, people would actually get in trouble for wasting time asking questions about it.” He turned to Lulu. “So, do you want a bloodbath, or do you want to do this smart?”
Lulu looked at Bryce and then Charlene. “Is there anyway we could do some sort of compromise on these ideas?”
Doug decided it was his time to contribute. “Instead of killing everyone, maybe we could just kill half the people there.” A better idea then struck Doug. “Or we could half-kill all the people!”
The three others stared at Doug for a moment and then turned back to each other. “I think we can just walk in there during the day, take the hard drive, and walk out before anyone is the wiser,” Bryce said. “We don’t need to over plan it; we all know how bureaucracy works in all the nations these days, and there’s plenty there to exploit. All we need is a little cunning and a little acting skill.”
Lulu smiled. “I always wanted to be an actress. This could be fun!”
Charlene scowled. “And if it doesn’t work out as planned?”
“Then we’ll do your ‘kill everybody’ plan,” Lulu said. “We’ll call it ‘Plan S’ for Charlene.”
“My name starts with a ‘C’.”
Lulu rolled her eyes. “But it makes an ‘s’ sound, so I’m calling it ‘Plan S’ so it’s less confusing. Now that we know how we’re attacking this mission, I think what we really need is a motto for our mercenary group. Something catchy so people will remember Hellbender for all their hired guns needs.”
Charlene scanned a digital layout of a floor of the research building which looked to have guard locations. “Lulu, we don’t need to waste time coming up with a stupid motto.”
“I say we need a motto and I’m the leader!” Lulu pounded the table with her fist.
“Fine. How about ‘Death Before Dishonor’?”
Lulu thought about it. “I don’t like having ‘death’ in it; too morbid.”
“‘Stays Crunchy in Milk’,” Bryce suggested.
Lulu did not look the least bit amused. “Am I the only one taking the mercenary group seriously?”
“I’d try and come up with a motto,” Doug said, “but I only know how to come up with slogans.”
“Great. I guess I’ll come up with a motto.” Lulu wrote on notepad. “Who wants to design our logo?”
Charlene sighed. “I really think we should devote our time to planning and not getting killed, Lulu.”
The two women began to bicker, and Doug decided it was a good time to try and talk privately to Bryce. He got up, tapped Bryce on the shoulder, and led Bryce away from the table. “I saw Stan again last night! He said we’re going to run into the Fallen on this mission, and I need to find a sacred weapon to fight them with or we’ll all die!”
Bryce quietly stared at Doug for a couple seconds before he finally said, “Everyone these days seems to have to go at least a little insane to cope with this world, but what I always liked about you is you just compensated by being dull-witted.” Bryce put his hand on Doug’s shoulder. “Please don’t go insane, Dougie.”
“But I can’t help it!”
“What’s going on over there?” Charlene called out.
Bryce headed back to the table. “Doug’s completely insane. He was just telling me he thinks your both pretty and sweet, Charlene, which I find incomprehensible.”
“I can be sweet, you little rat!” Charlene shouted at Bryce. She then looked to Doug who was blushing bright red. “It’s nice of you to say that, but I can’t have relations with anyone I’m working with professionally.”
“Does anyone think I’m pretty and sweet?” Lulu asked hopefully.
Bryce took her hand. “I do.”
Lulu pulled her hand away. “Yeah… but I’m starting to think you’re creepy. Maybe you should stick to hitting on hired goons.”
Bryce wasn’t able to hide he was a bit hurt by the slight. “Anyway, we’re going to need some supplies to get past the Asmod border and into the base. Luckily, I know where a black market is and we have our five thousand credits to spend.”
Lulu shot to her feet. “Shopping is part of this job! Being a mercenary is soooo much better than being in the military!”
“It’s not like we’re going to be buying handbags,” Charlene said.
“Well, we’ll see what’s on sale.” Lulu raced to the exit. “Come on!”
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(NOTE: Frank J.’s hastily hacked together stories are in no way supported or condoned by Baen)

BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 11)

“Do I have to be hung upside down like this?”
Stan smiled. “Just trying to keep things familiar.” He shoved Doug and sent him spinning.
Again, Doug could only see darkness around him. He had hoped that it was just a dream the previous night, but it all felt quite real now that it was occurring again. “You didn’t do anything to my friends when you took me, did you?”
Stan grabbed Doug and steadied him. “That’s what I like about you, Doug. Last time, I warned you to keep yourself safe, but you still charged out into danger in the defense of others. It’s that spirit I’m counting on for you to succeed. To cut to the chase, you will encounter the Fallen in the mission you will be doing with your friends, and thus soon will come your time to show your worth.”
“How do you know that? Can you see the future?”
Stan smirked. It seemed like there was some joke that Doug was unaware of. “I can, to some degree. I am God.”
Stan had neatly trimmed facial hair, but he still didn’t seem like a god to Doug. “So you created the world and everything?”
“No… that was the previous Supreme Ruler.” He smiled again, and it kinda creeped out Doug. “I like to think I gave this world its character, though.”
A woman laughed at that, and Doug could see the same woman as before standing behind Stan smoking a cigarette. Doug motioned towards her with his chin. “If you’re like the one true God, who is she?”
“The Queen Bitch Goddess.” She blew out a long puff of smoke.
Stan moved so as to block the view of Ms. Bee. “Ignore her. You have an important mission, Doug, and I want to make sure you understand it.”
“Well, understanding things is not one of my strong points… especially while upside down and dizzy. I think you have the wrong person for this.”
Stan tapped Doug on the shoulder, sending him spinning around. “You have to have more faith in yourself, Doug. Anyway, if you can’t succeed in defeating one of the fallen, you and your friends are going to die.”
That sense of responsibility had a crushing weight on Doug. He really hoped this was all a dream, but he was not so certain. “But what do I do! How do I send these Fallen people back to their prison? Like, what did that Jesus guy do?”
“He died,” Ms. Bee said with a slight chuckle.
Stan steadied Doug again. “Jesus was a special case; don’t worry about him. You’re going to have to find your own way to defeat the Fallen. The bodies the Fallen appear to have in this world are merely shells; the Fallen are linked to their prison still, and, if you can shatter the shell, back they go. The problem, of course, is those shells are not vulnerable to normal weapons, so I need you to obtain a sacred weapon.”
“Sacred?”
“That just means ‘really really special’. I can’t tell you exactly where to get one, but you’ll know it when you see it.”
Doug never knew much… even when he saw it. This Stan guy seemed to have a lot more faith in him than seemed reasonable. “I just don’t get this! What am I supposed to accomplish? Are you going to make me fight all the Fallen?”
“No, just a few to put fear back in them, then I’ll do the rest. The Fallen think they now own this world and are invulnerable, and we will pierce that ignorance. Then, do you know humanity will gain?”
Doug thought about that. “No, but you’ll stop hanging me from the ceiling, right?”
“They will gain freedom, Doug. Throughout its existence, humanity has been nothing but pawns in a battle beyond their comprehension. You’ve played Chess and know what a pawn is, right?”
“Yeah, those were those stupid pieces that couldn’t attack in front of them.”
Ms. Bee laughed. “I’m guessing you didn’t win those games.”
Doug tried to swing past Stan to face Ms. Bee. “I could have won if those stupid pawns could attack in front of them!”
Stan pulled Doug towards him. “We’re getting off topic. When one says ‘pawn’, they refer to a piece of limited value that is often sacrificed for the benefit of a long term strategy. You humans have lived and died for our battles. First, you were pawns in the fight between us and the previous God, and now you are pawns in a battle between the Fallen for control of this world. We can’t harm each other, so that’s why we use you. With your help, these battles will end, and, for the first time in history, humanity will have its freedom. So, will you help, Doug?”
Doug still didn’t see what he could do, but it did sound like he had to do something. “I’ll try my best.”
“And that is all I ask.” Stan let Doug go. “We’re about done here. Remember: you need to find a weapon appropriate for this battle. Also, as some extra help, when you break into the lab as part of your mission with your friends, look for a project labeled GX-7 and take that for yourself.”
“GX-7,” Doug repeated, once out loud and a number of times in his head. “Wait… how do I tell who the Fallen are again?”
Stan started to smile, but then stopped. “Believe me: you’ll know.”
Doug was back to really hoping this was a dream.
“I know you’re scared, Doug, but, remember: you must succeed or all of you will die.”
Doug frowned. “That doesn’t help me not be scared.”
Stan shrugged. “Goodbye, Doug. Good luck.”
As Doug’s vision started to fade, he heard Ms. Bee say, “Remember to attack along the diagonals, nitwit.”
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BEGINNING OF STORY
PREVIOUS (PART 10)

Bryce quickly ducked into an alleyway for cover with Lulu and Charlene following; Charlene pulled along Doug, who had reacted to the shooting by standing still and looking around with confusion.
“That was a warning shot!” yelled a voice that Doug recognized as the goonette he had failed to hit with a pipe.
“They always say that when they miss,” Charlene said.
Lulu frowned. “I didn’t think we’d be getting shot at this early.”
“It’s goons,” Doug said. “They’re after Bryce. I hit one in the head with a pipe, but the other got away and came back, I guess.”
“Goons?” Charlene sighed and moved to the edge of the alleyway exit. “Anyway, I spotted four of them in an old store front… one with a rifle. Give me a gun and I’ll take care of them.”
“No guns.” Bryce pulled Charlene back and placed himself nearer the end of the alleyway. “This is a personal matter completely unrelated to our mission… well, mainly unrelated. Anyway, I’ll handle this.” He turned to face out of the alleyway without exposing himself. “Hey! Sharon! Let’s try to resolve this peacefully before it ends in a way that we both regret!”
“Shannon,” Doug corrected him.
Bryce thought for a moment. “Are you sure?”
More bullets struck the edge of the alleyway, spraying pieces of concrete everywhere. “You don’t even remember my name?” Shannon shouted.
“Well… I’m bad with names… always have been, really. Still, I think we can be professional about this. I know that your boss wants me alive.”
“Yes, but we don’t!” answered a different female voice.
Bryce looked worried. “Charlene, did you happen to notice if all four were women?”
“Didn’t get a good view, but they could have been. What’s this all about?”
Bryce ignored the question. “This could be bad.”
“You said you love me!” yelled a third female voice.
Bryce was sweating. “Well… uh… in my defense… um… I thought it was clear from the context that I only said that to get you to sleep with me.”
Doug covered his ears in anticipation of more gunfire. After the bullets hit the wall and pavement outside the alley, Charlene turned to Lulu. “You see who we’ve gotten involved with?”
“That’s why I’m in charge.”
Doug tapped Bryce on the shoulder. “You know, you’ve occasionally gotten normal women to try and kill you, so maybe you should be more careful around women hired to kill people.”
“At least I’m getting some action, Doug, so shut up.”
“Enough.” Charlene reached in Doug’s jacket and pulled out his gun. She then leaned out of the alley and fired off a shot.
“That almost hit me in the head!” Shannon screamed.
Charlene looked at the pistol in her hand with distaste. “I need something more accurate for this range.”
“That was a warning shot!” Bryce shouted to the jilted goons. “I’m currently with a bunch of heavily armed mercenaries, so maybe this isn’t the best time to talk.”
Lulu moved towards the alleyway exit. “This is Madam Liu, leader of the mercenary group…” She turned to the others and whispered, “We really need a name for our new mercenary group.”
Doug knew the answer to that one. “Hellbender.”
“Ooh! I like that!” Lulu faced the alleyway exit. “…the mercenary group Hellbender! Don’t make us kill you… because we really will. If you have a problem with Bryce, why don’t you get together and put your thoughts down in a letter and mail that to him. You’ll feel a lot better afterwards.”
Charlene rolled her eyes. “You really told them.”
“This isn’t over, Hellbender!” Shannon shouted back. “You’ve gained the wrath of Dante Ridge by protecting Bryce, and we’ll see you all dead!”
“Okay. Toodles.” Lulu leaned out of the alleyway to take a look. “I think they left. See. I saved us all; that’s why I’m the leader.”
Charlene glared at Bryce. “Dante Ridge! Isn’t he the biggest crime lord out there?”
“Well, that varies by what measure you go by. I mean… physically, he isn’t the biggest.”
Charlene grabbed Bryce and placed her pistol barrel at his chin. “What have you gotten us into?”
“Nothing! To do the necessary research to get us this mission, I had to get some information from some existing criminal organizations. I might have stepped on a few toes and had personal relations with a few female goons, but that’s my problem. I’ll take care of it.”
Lulu pulled the two apart. “Calm down, Charlene, or I’m taking away the gun. I think it’s pretty cool that we already have an enemy when we’ve only been a mercenary group for a couple minutes. Go Hellbender!”
“This isn’t a game, Lulu! And what in the world does ‘Hellbender’ mean?”
“It’s a type of salamander,” Doug explained. “I saw the name once in a book and thought it would make a great name for a rock band. Since I never joined a rock band, while we were getting shot at I thought it might also make a great name for a mercenary group.”
Charlene stared at Doug until he became uncomfortable.
“A salamander is like lizard but wetter,” he said sheepishly.
Charlene shook her head as she put away the pistol. “I know what a salamander is. I was supposed to be smarter than to ever get involved in something like this.”
Bryce fixed his suit. “Cheer up. This will turn out great; I promise. Let’s get some dinner, and then we can head to a building I’ve acquired that we can use as headquarters.”
Lulu smiled. “Hellbender headquarters! Awesome!”
Dinner ended up being Chinese takeout, and Hellbender headquarters was a ramshackle building on the edge of town that looked to be one step away from being marked for demolition. At least this time Bryce used a key to get in the door. Inside, it appeared to be a long-abandoned office building with a thick coat of dust and cobwebs on all the furniture. Lulu was ecstatic and immediately began suggesting ideas for renovations. Charlene quickly cleaned off one table and looked through the data Bryce had gotten from the exploded robot that hired them. Once Doug had his fill of rice and noodles, he lost interest in the discussion of different tactical methods to infiltrate the Asmod research building, as it mainly went over his head. He figured they’d tell him what to do when they settled on something, so he left the three to plan while he went to get some sleep. He plopped down on an old sofa, coughed for a couple seconds from the dust that was upturned, and then closed his eyes.
Next thing Doug knew, he was hanging upside down and looking at a familiar face.
“Hello once again, Doug.”
NEXT

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