Unpredictably Dangerous

[Allegheny]

Two and a half years prior.

Operator Christina Deacon, you are charged with two counts of premeditated murder, one count of rape, one count of assassination of a high-ranking politician, and twenty counts of grand theft in excess of thirty million Marks, how do you plead?

Chris as she was called by her comrades in the Special Operations Unit stood in full uniform before the military tribunal, there were no juries, no witness to interview, just her and the generals chosen to hear her case. She wore the tan beret proudly, Death’s head on the flash. The crimes she committed all related to the death of a senator, his wife and the Army Air Force officer they had been having dinner with that night. Operatives of the elite military branch were known to be sometimes unstable and a little crazy, they had to be to compete with the enemies of their home country. Christina was something more than that. She left a good life to join the military and to experience the thrills that came with it, she was indeed beautiful, a seductress, she could have been the Special Operations Unit’s best spy. She easily infiltrated her own government to look for traitors but instead of finding a traitor she became one herself killing the senator she was ordered to seduce, sucking his bank accounts dry and enjoying every moment of it.

“Guilty to all counts except rape, the Senator wanted it.” Christina replied with an evil smirk.

The generals looked surprised at her plea. “Why only the rape charge?! It is obvious you forced him to have sex with you at gunpoint.”

“The Senator liked to role-play, he wasn’t the faithful, pious man the propaganda machine makes him out to be. There is no matter in arguing General, you have enough to put me away forever.” Christina finished a playful look splashing across her mechanical eyes.

The General nodded and conferred with his fellow Generals. “Christina Deacon you are hereby stripped of all rank, uniform, battlefield accomplishments, and shall be dishonorably discharged from the Special Operations Unit immediately. You are also sentenced to twenty years in the Blackgate military penitentiary where you will suffer greatly until the end of your life or sentence, may whatever entity you believe in have mercy on you.”

The guards escorted her from the court as the Generals watched. “That one is insane no doubt.” The General who delivered the sentence said aloud.

“Did they ever find that Senator’s money?” another asked.

“Not one lousy Mark.” The other replied.

Blackgate maximum-security prison was notorious for it’s near 90% percent death rate amongst its inmates. If she weren’t raped to death, the constant beatings and near poisonous food would have done in her in long before the end of her sentence. Anyone who made it out would end up in maximum-security insane asylums for the rest of their lives. On her first day she was given a cyanide pill and instructed to end her life in a more honorable fashion than suffering the horrors of the prison proper. They left her with a guard who when they came back had been found dead next to the chair she sat in, the pill had been force fed to him. She sat there with a seductive smile on her face, twirling a lock of her black hair with her finger.

Present.

Christina walked past the entrance gate to Blackgate out into the field that surrounded it. She had paid a high-ranking senator half of the money she stole to be given a pardon. Her back ached from the lashings she had received weeks prior. Frank Jensen was there to pick her up. He drove an old sedan with a rattling engine. Frank was a former Special ops unit soldier as well. He gave up his citizenship to get out of the military after he became disillusioned with the current administration.

“I can’t believe you got out alive Chris. I thought nobody got out of Blackgate alive.”

Christina laughed, “It helps to have a lot of money Frankie. This whole country runs off of it. You can do anything with it, even cheat death.”

“You know they demonized you all over the state media, your face was up on the evening news for almost six months. Your parents lost everything because of you, your father had a heart attack…. Your mom is a dru…”

“I know all of that Frank!” Christina yelled. “Fuck them anyways, they disowned me when I dropped everything to join up. Serves them right they were a different kind of criminal, one legitimized by government.”

“Why’d you do it Chris? You had promise back in the S.O.U. you could have done anything.”

Christina looked over at Frank who was staring intently out the windshield keeping his eyes on the road. “Are you implying I can’t do anything I want now?”

Frank shrugged, “Well no merc organization will take you, everyone will know who you are after doing even the most minimal research on you.” He shrugged again, “Nothing legitimate anyways.” He looked over at Christina who had her usual sultry smile as she listened to him talk.

“So I’ll leave Allegheny.”

“Are you kidding me Chris? The Regulators will never let you out of the country; I bet they are tracking your every move as we speak.” Frank retorted. “Even if you could leave where would you go? This region stinks of instability, nowhere is safe anymore. I’d rather live in constant persecution and be safe then go out into the world with no backup.”

Christina laughed, “That’s the point Frank, that instability will allow us to go on tons of adventure, we have the know how to survive in that instability, you just don’t want to accept it.”

“Yea I’ve seen your sense of adventure, and a two year stint in Blackgate is what it got you.” Frank said with a sigh.

“Heh,” Christina chuckled, “I killed more people in prison than I did to get there. You think some foreign prison can contain trained killers like us. Blackgate is designed to break someone who was already broken in the first place, foreign prison will be cakewalk compared to Blackgate.”

Frank shook his head. “You sure have been using that US word pretty liberally since you got in the car. What makes you think I want any part in your antics?”

Christina reached over and caressed his leg. “You went everywhere with me during training, you won’t let me go by myself.”

“Don’t flatter yourself Chris. I only did it for the sex.” Frank replied.

Christina laughed and stopped talking. She looked out the windows and out toward the red sky. They were in factory country heading west toward the city of Ashfield, the tips of the black skyscrapers peaking over barren hills.

She looked into the glove box and found a set of mirrored sunglasses, they blocked out the glow of her eyes from the world. She was ready to start a new life seeing the world and taking jobs no “legitimate businesswoman” would take.

Eventually they reached Frank’s apartment where Christina promptly took her bag of personal affects and went to use his shower. After the shower she spent time examining her naked back, the scars of the multiple instances of administrative punishment forever set into her skin. She had lost count how many times they had her on the whipping post most of those memories had been blocked out by her mind due to the incredible pain associated with them. The sound of a knock at the apartment’s front door reverberating through the high ceiling rooms caught her attention. The sound of Frank suddenly at the bathroom door startled her a little.

“Regulators!” He whispered through the cracked door.

[Allegheny]

Christina’s expression remained unchanged, “So do something about it! I am not dealing with them today.” She shut the door and began to get dressed.

Frank shook his head and went back toward the front door of the barely lit apartment. He looked through the peephole and examined the two Regulators standing in front of the door. They both wore mirrored sunglasses, any regular person would wonder why they still had them, but Frank knew they had the same implants he did, they could see perfectly fine. They both wore suits with black ties and had ear pieces most likely hooked up to radio’s hidden somewhere on their person. The one closest to the peephole gave a creepy knowing smiled when Frank looked through it. They knocked again.

“Come on Frank, I know you are in there. We just wanna talk!.”

Frank reluctantly opened the door and stood there before them.

“May we come in?” The Regulator asked.

“No,” Frank replied.

The creepy Regulator smiled. “Come on Frankie, don’t be like that, you know you don’t have choice in the matter.”

Frank left the doorway letting the room to pass to the inside of the apartment. “We even bother asking then.”

The Regulator was still smiling. “My mommy taught me good manners,” He said with a chuckle. “So where is she?”

“Where is who now?” Frank asked pretending he didn’t know what they were talking about.

“Don’t play stupid with me Frankie.” The Regulator spit back, “You picked up Deacon at Blackgate today, everyone knows! So…? Where is she?”

Christina appeared out of the darkness from the next room. “Hello boys, what can I do for you today?” She said a smirk on her face, the clothing she had changed into was casual but still managed to show off some of her features as she sat down into a chair facing them crossing her legs.

The two Regulators sat down uninvited, Frank still standing was nervous Christina would do something they both wouldn’t like. “Umm… would anyone like anything to drink?”

Both parties shook there heads no. “So Ms. Deacon,” The Regulator said in a dry voice, “naturally everyone was shocked you made your way out of Blackgate. It didn’t last long, but we were just a little shocked. I guess the idiots at Blackgate were okay with letting out someone as dangerous and insane as you without someway of keeping track of you, but we at the Investigation and Intelligence Agency aren’t okay with that. If you want to be a member of society then there are measures we must take.”

Christina sighed, “and they would be?”

The Regulator pulled out two pill shaped objects, “you could end it and make it easier for everyone,” he said holding up a suicide pill, “or… you could let us implant this tracking device.”

“I would be careful with that pill, I’m sure you know what happened last time someone offered a suicide pill to me. What if I refuse to do either?”

“That choice isn’t available Ms. Deacon.”

Christina looked down at her legs before saying anything, “you know, I think I will take that drink, water.” Frank left the room and came back with the glass filled with water. “I guess if I’m going to be hounded for the rest of my life by the government I might as well end it.”

The Regulator stood up to hand her the pill, “I am sorry it has to be like this, but we can’t have you prancing around free to do whatever you want. We have seen how you operated when you were still in the S.O.U.”

“You are right sir. I am dangerous, I realize that now,” Christina said uncrossing her legs and standing up to meet the Regulator at eye level, her cup still in hand.

He held it out to her and she looked at it for a few moments before grabbing his hand and ramming the glass cup directly into his face full force. Glass shattered everywhere as it impacted breaking his sunglasses, nose and driving shards of glass into his eyes and face. The regulator screamed out loudly, the glass had blinded him. Christina had not let go of him, quickly finding the pistol that had been holstered on his shoulder aiming his body at the other Regulator who had been sitting and was now standing up trying to draw his. A burst of automatic fire had erupted from between the arms and torso of the Regulator Christina had hold of, the bullets flying everywhere hitting the wall and the other Regulator in the chest, he fell down dead on the couch he had been sitting on previously.

Christina pushed the blinded Regulator off of her, simultaneously drawing his weapon from the holster. She fired off another burst that drilled into the second Regulator killing him.

Frank was speechless after seeing Christina dispatch both Regulators in only a few seconds. Christina looked down at the gun, “Heh, machine pistol with extended magazines! These guys were really packing heat!” She said to Frank. Blood was everywhere as it leaked out of the fresh wounds of the two dead agents.

“You fucking killed them Chris!” Frank finally yelled.

“Well yea, they wanted me to kill myself! What?! You were actually thinking was going to do it?”

"Frank facepalmed in disbelief, “Now we both are going to be put in jail.” He said sitting down into a chair, his head in his hands.

“Come on,” Christina said, “get your suitcase and pack a few pairs of clothes, we are going to leave. We have to stop at the bank first though.”

[Allegheny]

Christina quickly packed for both of them as Frank stood there and stared at the two dead agents she had dispatched in only a few heart pounding seconds.

“I can’t believe this.” Frank said still stunned.

“Well I am done packing, ready to go?” Christina asked

“Do I have a fucking choice now? I’ve got two dead Regulators in my living room!” Frank exclaimed.

Christina stuffed the two guns and a set of keys the agents had on them into their communal bag and pushed Frank out the door. The floor they lived on didn’t have to many people on it, but a few had heard the commotion and were out in the hallway speaking when Christina and Frank passed by. The air on the outside was stale and sirens could be heard in the distance, a black car sat in front of the building and Christina took out the keys the agents had on them and successfully unlocked the car. The car started with a rumble and they pulled out into the road, passing by arriving metropolitan policemen who had most likely been called to investigate the shooting.

“What is this now? Five murders you are responsible for?” Frank said sarcastically, “When is it my turn to die? I feel like I am a hostage or something.”

“Come on now Frank, I am completely innocent! I was abused as a child, my daddy touched me in my naughty parts, my mother never loved me! I bet I could pull of the insanity plea really well if I wanted to,” she said as she listed off fake excuses as if she was on the stand again.

“Why are you doing this?” Frank said, “Was it something they did to you back when you were still operating? Was it what you found? I really want to know.” Frank asked as he slouched down in the car seat.

“Simply because I can, I’ve seen the instability of the countries around us and I want to take advantage of the fear of the uncertainty. I like the feeling of power I get when I steal and kill. It’s exhilarating really. I’ve got fifteen million Marks still left over completely untouchable by anyone and the know how to kill someone with a piece of yarn, you tell me why I shouldn’t do this?” Christina calmly explained.

Frank sighed, “You are telling me this is some sort of lesson you are teaching people?”

“No, I have the power and in turn I do what I want. Those without the power either move out of the way, join in or die. It’s that simple. The government designed the training in Spec Ops to teach us that very lesson: Those who can, do, those who can’t, die. In the end it is simply whether or not I choose to exert my will over the weak and powerless. So have fun Frank, because I’ve chosen you as my right hand man, I haven’t really figured out what you are good for yet but I will eventually.”

“Oh… thanks,” Frank said in defeat.

The bank was a concrete building without any windows of any type, Frank recognized this bank as he had seen them in other cities. They were privately owned and completely out of the jurisdiction of the small government that ruled Allegheny. There was not one thing they could do but directly assault the building to get at the money which is why he figured Christina had chosen it to store her stolen money. As they entered the large lobby caused their footsteps to echo across the room, a lone receptionist sat at the desk.

“Good evening Ms. Deacon, we have been expecting your return for a while now, would you like access to your vault?” The receptionist pleasantly asked.

Frank was astonished, “You have your own fucking vault?!” he whispered.

Christina paid no attention to his surprise as she put her hand up to a biometric scanner to prove her identity. A small contingent came out of the room behind the lobby to escort them to her vault. “We shall wait out here until you are finished. Shall we get you anything while you tend to your belongings?” One of the stewards asked.

Christina shook her head no as she entered the code and had the vault opened. Inside were literal stacks of money. “On second thought, I shall require two metal suitcases that can be locked.” She asked.

The steward nodded his head and retrieved them without question, after a few minutes she gathered enough money to fill them before going to a shelf and pulling out a stack of passports.

“Where did you get all of these,” Frank asked as he thumbed through the passports, all with different identities.

“I stole them from the S.O.U.'s store of passports they give to their intellegence operatives. All I have to do is put our photos on them and they will allow us to get out of country without having to use our names. No doubt I am on several no fly lists.” Christina explained.

“I doubt it will be that simple, no doubt we will have to kill at least five hundred people to just get into a plane.” Frank said sarcastically.

“Oh don’t be such a pessimist, maybe only half that at least.”