Nina kept her eyes down and didn’t answer.
“You know what? I think I’ll make good on that threat right now. How about a little extra reward for Squad B?” he said.
“Nestor, you can’t do that. Doc didn’t say to reward them twice. And certainly not in mornings. He wants them fresh in the mornings for their training.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Nestor snapped. He unlocked the double doors that gave entrance to Squad B and stepped inside. “Ya’ll want a little bit of extra reward before training this morning. You have fifteen minutes.” Nestor shoved Nina inside then slammed the door shut, locking her in. “Teach that motherfucker to threaten me!”
Growls and snarls filled the air as she was rushed from all sides.
She didn’t fight, she knew it would only get her killed. She dropped to her knees and covered her head, biting her lip to prepare for what she knew was coming.
Nestor turned around and realized he was alone. His partner had walked away from him when he shoved the girl into the room. Moments later his partner came running back down the hallway with a cattle prod — they carried stun guns, but he didn’t want to take a chance and hit the female. She was so small that on the maximum setting they kept the stun guns on, it was possible that he could have killed her, so he ran to the panic box at the end of the hallway for a prod. He used his own keys to unlock the doors, then shoved them open shouting and zapping any male body that he could see.
The males yelped and snarled and jumped back out of the way, eventually moving off the female that had been trapped beneath them. “Come on,” he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her with him toward the door.
The doors closed and he dropped the female’s arm, allowing her to fall to the floor beside him, while he locked the doors back, and then the chain double securing them. He turned to Nina and pulled her up by the arm again, and allowed her to lean on him as Nestor followed along behind them mumbling under his breath.
He got Nina settled back in her cell, told the guard on duty that she hadn’t been fed yet, and stalked out, heading toward the training rooms to speak to the doctor himself. He planned to make sure he wasn’t going to pay for Nestor being a dick wad. He didn’t want the doctor, or the leader of Squad A coming after him.
“Where you going?” Nestor demanded as he stalked past.
“None of your fucking business,” the guard answered.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Jimmy waited while Dr. Waller explained in detail to the males standing at attention in the training room, his expectations for the next two days. “I have gone to great lengths to arrange this showing. Your futures depend on it. Either you will be hired out as private assassins, or, you will be considered a failed experiment. Today is the last training day, the last prep day before those you really wish to impress come to observe your skills first hand.”
Maddox and his squad stood stock still in the middle of the training room, hands clasped behind their backs, listening to their directions.
“You will not kill any of our males. You are not training full force today. You are simply preparing and practicing for tomorrow. Am I clear?” Doctor Waller asked.
“Yes, sir!” all five males responded.
“Very good. Guards, bring in Squad B,” the doctor ordered. Then he turned from the expansive viewing windows of the control room and gave Jimmy his attention. “And why are you here again? Should you not be on duty somewhere?”
“No, sir. I was off duty thirty-five minutes ago,” Jimmy answered.
“Fine, what is the problem?” the doctor asked.
“There was an occurrence, sir. And I feel you should know about it.”
There was a blood curdling roar behind them and both men spun to see what was happening.
Doctor Waller pressed the button for the intercom. “Stop it! Stop this nonsense at once! I explicitly said no killing today!” he screamed into the intercom.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Maddox and his males stood their ground, waiting for Squad B to enter the training room. They’d fought them before, many times. They’d even taken out a few of them, causing them to have to bring in fresh males to renew their ranks. But today, they’d been told that there would be no killing, just a practice run for tomorrow, so they prepared for a light workout and watched as Squad B walked in.
“They’re hyped up. Watch your backs,” Maddox mumbled as they rushed into the training room, some of them with their claws already fully extended, their lips pulled back in a snarl.
Maddox stepped forward, wasting no time in getting started. All in one smooth motion, he ducked down and went in low taking the leader of Squad B down to the mats beneath them. He rolled and got to his feet, slowly moving in a circle around the male. The male rolled and got to his feet as well, counter-circling Maddox.
Maddox paused, his nostrils flaring. Something had caught his attention, pulling him out of the fight at hand. He heard the sounds of fighting behind himself and knew that his males had engaged with Squad B’s males. He tried to focus on his opponent again, but suddenly Tex was standing there beside him, holding his own opponent by the throat, dragging him like he was nothing more than a rag doll.
Maddox glanced at Tex.
Tex lifted the male and made it clear he was smelling him.
Maddox’s eyebrows came down over his eyes and he watched Tex, trying to understand what he was trying to say.
“Yours,” Tex finally said.
Maddox didn’t understand. He lifted his nose in the air and leaned toward the male Tex held immobile — the male he’d just about killed by holding him tightly by the throat with both hands.
And then Maddox got it. The male smelled like his woman.
“Kill him,” Maddox ordered.
Tex shrugged and squeezed tighter.
Then Maddox focused on Squad B’s leader. He realized what was off when they’d begun to battle. He smelled like Maddox’s female. He’d had her, and recently. Maddox became a whole new animal. His eyes shifted to black and he went for the jugular — literally, while he roared a battle cry.
“Stop it! Stop this nonsense at once! I explicitly said no killing today!” Doctor Waller screamed into the intercom.
But it was not heeded. Conley, Phelps, and Santiago slipped into the same killing frenzy that Maddox and Tex had entered. It took tranquilizing darts for both squads before any semblance of retreat began to take place. And even then they were trying to attack as they fell to their knees, then planted face first into the training mats.
Chapter 8
Dr. Waller was livid, two of the five males that made up Squad B were dead, a third was in critical condition and the last two while not life threatening, appeared to be injured so badly they’d take time to heal before he could even consider presenting them to potential buyers or investors.
Dr. Waller stomped between the unconscious bodies of the perfect assassins, soldiers, bodyguards, anything their eventual owners may want use of them for, and screamed his outrage. A constant string of curses falling from his lips as he paused occasionally and kicked at one of the prone males who were still completely unconscious while his medical assistants assessed and treated the injured where they could, and hauled away the bodies where they could not.
“What, in the fuck, happened?!” he screamed, his speech pattern stuttering, and halted. “I cannot fucking believe these god damned idiots have set me back months in my presentation! Not to mention hundreds of thousands of dollars! I’ll have to rebuild Squad B! I’ll have to train more males to take the place of those Squad A killed. I have to figure out why you fucking snapped after almost a year of following orders to the letter! I should kill you my fucking self! What the fuck happened to you?” Dr. Waller screamed, stopping his pacing beside Maddox’s still tranquilized body. His face was red, the veins in his throat and face were standing out and he was so angry spittle flew from his frothing lips.
“It’s his female, sir. That’s what I was trying to tell you,” Jim
my said, now standing outside the training room but speaking loudly enough to be heard.
Dr. Waller looked from Maddox up to Jimmy. “What?” he asked irritatedly.
“His female, sir. When we collected the rewards this morning, Squad A’s leader told us the female he had was his. He said when we brought rewards tonight, we should bring two. His female for him, and another for the rest of his males.”
Dr. Waller laughed. “And you decided to abide by his wishes?”
“No, sir. No, I was planning to take her back to her cell, then come see you right away to let you know what had happened.”
“Then how did this happen? I fail to see the connection,” Dr. Waller yelled.
“Because Nestor was angry. Squad A’s leader threatened to kill anyone who touched his female. He said that no one touched his female and he’d kill anyone who did. Nestor was mad about the threat and stopped by Squad B’s cell block and threw her into it. He told them they had fifteen minutes. It was actually only about six or seven minutes by the time I was able to run for a prod and then unlock the door and get her out. But I guess some of them were able to mount her, and the others must have at least gotten close enough to have her scent on them.”
Dr. Waller stood where he was watching Jimmy explain what could have possibly driven Maddox and his team over the edge. He scrubbed his hands down his face. Looked around at everyone passed out around him, the blood splattered over the training room, and his medical team beginning to move the tranquilized males back to their cell block since they’d already removed the bodies of the dead and gravely injured. “You’re telling me this male,” he said, kicking Maddox’s legs, “decided to lay claim to one of the rewards and killed those of Squad B that he detected the scent of this female on.”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but yeah, that’d be my guess.”
“Where is Nestor?” Dr. Waller snapped.
“I think he’s already gone home.”
“Where is the reward that is responsible for causing all this destruction and unrest?” Dr. Waller shouted.
“I put her back in her cell, told the guards in that wing of the facility that she hadn’t eaten yet, then came straight to tell you.”
“Bring her to me!” Dr. Waller demanded.
“Okay,” Jimmy answered. He turned to walk halfway out of the room, then stopped, turning back to the doctor. “I don’t see the use in killing her. She’s one of the ones that don’t give no trouble. She don’t even cry and beg us to let her go. Seems to me, you could use her to make the big one behave better.”
Dr. Waller had gone back to pacing between the remaining males, muttering under his breath. He stopped in his tracks and snapped his eyes to Jimmy. He thought about what Jimmy had just said, then glanced down at Maddox. Maddox was an exemplary specimen, the most promising to date, but he’d still not been tried in the field because he was so strong willed there was some question as to whether or not he’d return. This could be the security measure he’d been waiting for. “Bring her to me. I have no intention of killing her at this time.”
“Yes, sir,” Jimmy answered.
~~~~~
Maddox woke in a fog, his brain telling him that he was in the middle of a fight, and he came up swinging, fighting to keep himself upright on his feet. Standing in the middle of his cell with his fists raised, locked in for the first time in a long time, he realized he’d been tranquilized.
“Report!” he bellowed.
Maddox listened as one by one each of his males called out to let him know they were there, and they were alive.
He didn’t even have time to make sense of what had happened before the chains on the outside of the door began to rattle as they were being unlocked. Maddox stood his ground, eyes pinned to the double doors where he could hear the key turning in the tumbler from his cell. He could hear shuffling as his squad got to their feet and mimicked his behavior.
Moments later the doors opened and Dr. Waller strode into the room flanked by several guards. He walked right up to Maddox’s cell. “Well, I see you’re awake now.”
Maddox just stood there, he didn’t even consider replying.
“You are aware you’ve set this program back by at least two months?” Dr. Waller snapped.
Still Maddox showed no emotion and made no move to reply.
“I clearly gave orders that said, and I quote, ‘No killing!’.”
Maddox could have been a statue for all the response he gave.
“Say something, damn you!” Dr. Waller demanded.
“Mine,” was all he offered on a slow growl.
Dr. Waller raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really? After all the damage you’ve done, you have the nerve to ask for a female I did not offer you exclusively. A female, that after all the trouble her presence has caused, may just be dead by now.”
Maddox charged the bars of his cell, snarling and roaring at the doctor, doing his best to try to bend the bars with his bare hands so he could get at the doctor.
Dr. Waller watched him dispassionately for several minutes before tsking and shaking his head. “I said may be dead. I didn’t say she was. You will calm, or she will end up dead.”
Maddox just barely heard his words, but he realized if he wanted to know what happened to his female and if possible keep her alive, he needed to comply with the doctor’s orders.
“Bring her,” Maddox demanded.
“Do you truly think you are in any position to make any demands?” Dr. Waller asked. He wandered away from Maddox’s cell and walked a short distance into the cell block and back. “And I suppose each of your males believes they deserve a female of their own as well?” He heard a disgusted pshaw, and turned to see who it came from.
Santiago was mumbling and making a quick retreat back to his bunk.
“Well, apparently one does not,” Dr. Waller observed.
“They get rewards. I get mine. Only I get mine,” Maddox said.
“So, if I assign a particular reward to you and only you exclusively. And provide your males with a reward to share for their own satisfaction… what would I get out of the deal?” Dr. Waller asked, knowing full well where he was going with this. He’d spent the better part of yesterday, and part of the night determining exactly how well this could actually work for him.
“Compliance,” Maddox said.
“Compliance?”
“Yes,” Maddox said, nodding.
“So, I could send you outside this facility for testing in the field. I could actually send you out on simulations, possibly even example runs for interested parties, and you would return, each and every time with a job well done.”
“Yes,” Maddox said.
“And where am I to house this lone female? How I do keep her separate and protected from the other males, the guards included, in this facility. You are aware that a part of their compensation is the right to sample the females from time to time. Call it, fringe benefits,” Dr. Waller said, raising his hand in the air and waving his hand as he spoke.
Maddox’s chest rumbled low and deadly.
“Ahh, I see you don’t like that. Well, it is something to negotiate.”
“She’s mine,” Maddox said, taking a step closer to the bars of his cell and glaring at Dr. Waller.
“Obviously you seem to think so. Does she know she’s yours? I’ve spoken with her, or at least I attempted to. She doesn’t speak very much so I’m uncertain about that,” Dr. Waller said, watching Maddox closely, assessing his every action and reaction. When there was none but a stiffening of Maddox’s jaw, he continued. “Here is what will happen. I will provide you the female you claim is yours when you do exactly what I tell you to do, following orders precisely and without failure of any type. If those conditions are met, she’ll be housed here, with you in your cell. If those conditions are not met, she’ll be housed elsewhere. Where that is will be none of your concern. I may house her safely, or I may house her with another squad. It all depends on your level of insu
bordination. Are we clear?” Dr. Waller asked.
“My males,” Maddox rumbled.
“Each time your squad performs successfully, we will provide a reward for their use.”
“Done,” Maddox snapped.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Lieutenant.” Dr. Waller spun on his heel and stalked out of Squad A’s cell block with a very self-assured grin on his face. He now had control over the most promising testing subject in the facility simply because that subject had fixated on a particular female.
Dr. Waller paused outside the doors of Squad A’s cell block and waited for the guards to finish locking the door and chaining it properly. Once the guards turned to face him, he gave them their orders. “Take the female and have her cleaned properly. Then make it known to Nestor that he may have his time with her. When he is done, have him deliver the female to the Lieutenant’s cell. Do not send a partner guard with him.”
“Yes, sir,” several of the guards answered, knowing sending in a guard alone went against every protocol they had. They also knew they’d be insubordinate themselves if they went against the doctor’s orders.
“Wait two hours, then feed Squad A. After you do, leave their cells unlocked, giving them free range in their cell block. I do not believe we’ll have a control issue with this squad again.”
“Yes, sir.”
Maddox still stood where he’d been when Dr. Waller had spoken with him. He was confused. He felt as though there was something he should be remembering, or should be doing.
“Why’d he call you Lieutenant?” Phelps asked.
Maddox shook his head, trying to figure it out himself. “I don’t know,” Maddox finally answered.
“Probably just trying to unnerve you even more,” Santiago said.
Beginnings Page 7
