The Dark Edge Chronicles - Hardwire

Mindfire Redux

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"So, it seems to be the situation as it stands!" Alexandra Rodriguez, a member of Avalon's ruling council and a survivor of the Los Manos nation in Madrid, said softly as she pointed out on the big wall map. Her soft Spanish accent gave color and body to her words.

The beautiful and spicy Spanish woman was also one of the first to be captured and sent to the Lyon breeding facility nearly three years ago, with two psionic spawn produced in her bruised womb from Brotherhood implantation's. But one wouldn't be the wiser if they were to look at her stunning beauty.

Alexandra had that smoldering Mediterranean sultriness, possessing full red lips, long legs, large, firm breasts and long, wavy hair that tumbled down and over her shoulders. Her face had a timeless beauty that made most men stare and her hazel eyes were filled with the promise of long hours of pleasure for the man that could win her affection.

And that man was Mordecai, whether he knew it or not, or simply refused to acknowledge it. The sexy Spaniard wasn't the only one that had come to want the man in black for herself; it seemed that every woman that had joined Avalon had fallen hard for the big psionic. And they all seemed to be stunning knockouts, any man's dream come true. The Brotherhood did have some sort of good taste after all! Of course, that also suggested that they were culling ... a chilling thought indeed!

Not only was Alex beautiful, however, she also possessed enough psionic talent that she could be called a hard softwire, with talents including full Telepathy, limited Translocation, limited mover and burner ability and Empathy, along with the deep senses and some clairvoyance. Yet another reason the Brotherhood had her in their hands: her DNA was priceless!

"With Mindfire, Quick Poison, the Elementals, Mastermind, Brainstorm and Jihad now in Calgary," she continued in the soft, yet intelligent and firm voice. "It'll rapidly become difficult to move without finding an ESET under foot!" She looked over at Mordecai with a sultry gaze meant only for him. "I think that's a few too many ESETs even for you, Mordecai," she noted huskily, unable to keep a slight tone of worry and concern out of her almost flawless English.

"I agree," Melanie said in a more practical tone, almost frowning at her fellow council member as the sensuous Spaniard took her seat to Mordecai's right. The blonde psionic sat to the big man's left and now had his cool-eyed attention.

"That's almost 40 psionics, with even the weakest member of the weakest team a full hard softwire. Not to mention a handful of actual hardwires liberally mixed in to boot. They could pin you down and methodically pound you into powder!"

"I agree with Melanie and Alex both!" Justine added from where she sat on Melanie's other side. "What you propose, it's just too dangerous!" Her voice, too, was filled with concern.

"While there is an inherent element of danger to my plan," Mordecai began grimly, "unfortunately it's the only way we're going to get these ESETs taken care of. With my errant lone gunmen comrades unknowingly playing their part, this may be the opportunity we were waiting for to make a decisive move against the Brotherhood. And the ESETs in particular. Strike while they're confused and unorganized."

"It's a suicide mission!" the last member of the small group and of the ruling council hissed from where she sat across the table from the big man in black, her green eyes flashing with emotion.

Beki Lee Han, one of a handful of survivors from the mainland Chinese nation of the Evening Star, was easily one of the most beautiful women that Mordecai had ever seen. Possessing both the delicate and graceful features of the Asian people, she also had a drop-dead gorgeous and deliciously filled-out body thanks to her British ex-patriot mother, who married her father while he was attending Oxford, in London. Of all the members of Avalon, only Alexandra had been in the breeding facility longer.

And Beki had an intensity that easily matched her beauty, an intensity that had earned her the nickname of the Silver Dragon from her days in the Evening Star nation. That intensity Beki now focused on Mordecai.

"You're too important to not only Avalon, but to the rebellion here, in Calgary, to go and throw away your life like that!" she tautly declared, leaning across the table towards the frowning man in black. "A solitary hardwire against six ESETs?"

"I think if we just spent a little more time in developing the countermeasures ..." Melanie began to add, pulling out several progress reports on the program that Avalon had been working on hand in hand with Mordecai to assist its less powerful members against such teams. But Mordecai cut her off with a chop of his hand, his own intense gaze like twin laser beams as they first stabbed out at Beki before sweeping around the table.

"Time is no longer a luxury that we have, people!" he flatly pointed out. "While I would love having the entire nation at my back, countermeasures in hand, those ESETs aren't going to wait for us to complete our defenses. Couple that with the uncertainty surrounding Katengaur and Sonja's next move, and we're standing at a rather uneasy crossroad of decision."

The big man abruptly stood.

"But, this is the reason you wanted me to join Avalon in the first place: to give your new nation tactical and strategic support. And I'm telling you right now that this is the right strategy in this case. If I don't take the heat off of Avalon with this diversion, then those six ESETs are going to roll in here, and roll right over you!"

"We could command you to stand down and wait ..." Beki began before being impaled by Mordecai's hard gaze.

"Do you really think you could command me?" He snorted softly. Then he was striding towards the door, the temperature dropping around him as he went until, by the time he stepped out the door to disappear, the women around the table could see their breath.

"Shit!" Melanie hissed, glancing around the table at her fellow council members and Avalonians. "That was not the way we wanted this to go!"

Gathering power as he strode down the corridor towards the elevator that would take him back to the surface, the man in black's mind was mulling over the plan he had just outlined to the room behind him. A plan that required a sneak attack on the ESETs before they had a chance to begin their hunt for Avalon. Time to find a partner in crime.

- Raven, - he psyked, reaching out for his comrade's familiar signature. An instant later, the reply was in his mind.

- Mordecai. - Raven's mental voice was a dry copy of her actual voice. – Were you aware that the Brotherhood has moved additional ESETs into the city? -

- Very, - Mordecai sent back, his own mental voice rather dark and grim. – What are Katengaur and Sonja thinking about doing about it? And the others, for that matter. -

- Brillman and Coyote are content to stay put and observe, - Raven noted tightly, her obvious displeasure with their decision clearly evident in her mental voice. – And, by the sounds of it, Katengaur and Sonja are planning an all-out assault as soon as the ESETs are gathered in one place, to take advantage of the close quarters. -

- Then they're not aware of the presence of several hardwires mixed in with the movers and burners that make up the bulk of the teams, then. -

- Hardwires?? - Raven's uncertainty announced that she, at least, hadn't been aware of the hardwires' presence. And that translated directly to the others being unaware as well.

- Yup, hardwires, - Mordecai sent back tightly. – So I've decided to move against them myself. Even before they get settled. Can you meet me downtown? I've got a plan! -

There was no disguising the relief in Raven's mental voice as she replied.

- Damn good to hear, my friend. Yes, I'll meet you down by the donut shop as soon as you 'port in. -

- Good. I'll see you there shortly. - And with that, he severed the connection to his fellow lone gunman. 'I just hope I beat Katengaur to the punch!' he thought darkly as he continued to pull more energy out of the air, the temperature in the corridor plummeting. 'Rook to Queen's bishop.' A flicker of light and a slight 'poof' of air and he was gone.

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